Katherine Drayton Simons

Katherine Drayton Mayrant Simons (January 21, 1890-1969) was a South Carolina poet, novelist, and playwright. After graduating from Converse College, she taught languages while continuing to write. She published her first book, Shadow Songs, in 1912. Simons served with the Red Cross during World War I. She was elected the first woman president of the Poetry Society of South Carolina. She continued to publish works throughout her lifetime and was inducted into the South Carolina Academy of Authors in 1997.

Early life Katherine Drayton Mayrant Simons was born on January 21, 1890, in Charleston, South Carolina, to Sedgewick Lewis Simons and Kate Drayton Mayrant. Her mother enjoyed poetry, while her father sang and played violin. Simons later recalled that "before [she] ever went to school [she] was writing verse about [her] cats and dogs, laboriously printing it out in a copybook". At a young age, Simons' family moved to Dorchester County, Summerville, where she was raised.

Works Novels

The Running Thread (1949) First the Blade (1950) Courage is Not Given (1952) The Red Doe (1953) Always a River (1956) Lamp of Jerusalem (1957) Land Beyond the Tempest (1960)

Poetry

Shadow Songs (1912) The Patteran (1925) White Horse Leaping (1951)

Plays

Golden Slipper (1950) — with J. Whilden Blackwell, performed at Troy State Teachers' College Bewley's Bewitched (1952) — performed at Dock Street Theatre Held in Splendor (1953) — with Patricia Colbert Robinson, performed at Dock Street Theatre The Lost Atlantis (1964) — a ballet sketch, performed by Charleston Civic Ballet Company

Legacy Simons died on March 31, 1969, at the age of 79 and was buried at Magnolia Cemetery in Charleston, South Carolina. Her contributions to South Carolina's literary community were recognized after her death with her induction into the South Carolina Academy of Authors on March 15, 1997.