Blanche Partington
Encyclopedia
Blanche Partington was a prominent San Francisco journalist and member of the San Francisco Bay Area literary and cultural scene. She is particularly noted for her relationships with prominent California writers, including Ambrose Bierce
, Jack London
, and Yone Noguchi
.
, England
, and was christened on November 25, 1866, at St Mary's Church, Stockport
. Blanche was the eldest of seven children, all of whom would achieve success in careers connected with the arts, among them, artists Richard Langtry Partington and Gertrude Partington Albright as artists, Phyllis Partington (an opera singer under the name Frances Peralta), and theater manager John Allan Partington. The family lived briefly in Heysham
, Lancashire
, and Ramsey, Isle of Man
during the 1880s. "John H. E. Partington was a great lover of travel and moved his family so often that no formal schooling was possible. He solved his children's education by training them himself. After they had learned to read and write, he read them famous poems which they were then asked to recite from memory. As recreation they had music, drawing and painting, offered them in much the modern, progressive method of letting each child's talents unfold."
In 1889, the family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. John Partington established a studio and art school on Pine Street. Richard and Gertrude were soon working as sketch artists for local newspapers, while Blanche and Phyllis developed their musical talents.
. Blanche became one of the famed humorist's favored correspondents, a position she still retained at the time of his mysterious disappearance in 1914. It is generally assumed among Bierce scholars that the two were lovers, but it is clear from Bierce's early letters, during the summer of 1892, that Blanche looked to Bierce for instruction about a possible career in journalism. "When you are quite sure of the nature of your call to write--quite sure that it is not the voice of 'duty'--then let me do you such slight, poor service as my limitations and the injunctions of circumstance permit."
. This time, Partington played the role of teacher and Noguchi the student. "I think that you are so bright and full of good judgements," Noguchi wrote after they met through a mutual friend, Joaquin Miller
. "I am such a writer without good grammer and spelling. How I wish to know and have a fine adviser and 'sympatica'!" Partington helped Noguchi with his literary work, including an early version of The American Diary of a Japanese Girl
. But their relationship was under strain by the time Noguchi left California in 1900.
published her interview with Swami Vivekananda
. By November of 1900, she was writing regular drama and music reviews for the San Francisco Call
. She served as the paper's official dramatic critic until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
. Her main contribution was a regular Sunday column entitled "With the Players and the Music Folk," filled with assorted entertainment news, gossip, and interviews with local and visiting entertainers. In these columns and their midweek supplements Partington developed a casual interview style which foregrounded her easy camaraderie with the entertainers.
. She soon became rivals for London's affections with London's future wife, Charmian Kittredge. Charmian, in her memoir, writes of their battle for London's musical tastes. "At that time he cared far more for orchestral than for vocal harmonies, especially the Wagnerian operas. In the latter, as well as in quite a repertory of other operatic work, he had been well coached by his friend Blanche Partington, musical and dramatic critic on the San Francisco Call for seven years, who had taken him with her to many performances. I, on the other hand, favored the voice records above the instrumental. After several years, as one manifestation of his searching into the human, Jack leaned more and more to the voice, until he seldom put on the orchestral disks."
began considerably earlier, perhaps in connection with her mother's supposed recovery from cancer in 1907. "Not that I believe a word of it," Bierce told George Sterling
. Charmian London recalled a "warm discussion" between Partington and Jack London on the subject of Christian Science in 1911.
Blanche Partington never married. On March 12, 1951, at the age of 84, she died at the family home overlooking San Francisco's Buena Vista Park
.
Ambrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
, Jack London
Jack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
, and Yone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi, or Yonejirō Noguchi, born 野口 米次郎 / Noguchi Yonejirō , was an influential Japanese writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism in both English and Japanese. He was the father of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Noguchi was born in the town of Tsushima, near Nagoya...
.
Early life
Blanche Partington was born to artist John Herbert Evelyn Partington (1843–1899) and his wife, Sarah Mottershead, in CheshireCheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and was christened on November 25, 1866, at St Mary's Church, Stockport
St Mary's Church, Stockport
St Mary's Church, Stockport is the oldest parish church in the town of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It stands in Churchgate overlooking the market place . The church is a Grade I listed building...
. Blanche was the eldest of seven children, all of whom would achieve success in careers connected with the arts, among them, artists Richard Langtry Partington and Gertrude Partington Albright as artists, Phyllis Partington (an opera singer under the name Frances Peralta), and theater manager John Allan Partington. The family lived briefly in Heysham
Heysham
Heysham is a large coastal village near Lancaster in the county of Lancashire, England. Overlooking Morecambe Bay, it is a ferry port with services to the Isle of Man and Ireland. Heysham is the site of two nuclear power stations which are landmarks visible from hills in the surrounding area...
, Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
, and Ramsey, Isle of Man
Ramsey, Isle of Man
Ramsey is a town in the north of the Isle of Man. It is the second largest town on the island after Douglas. Its population is 7,309 according to the 2006 census . It has one of the biggest harbours on the island, and has a prominent derelict pier, called the Queen's Pier. It was formerly one of...
during the 1880s. "John H. E. Partington was a great lover of travel and moved his family so often that no formal schooling was possible. He solved his children's education by training them himself. After they had learned to read and write, he read them famous poems which they were then asked to recite from memory. As recreation they had music, drawing and painting, offered them in much the modern, progressive method of letting each child's talents unfold."
In 1889, the family moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. John Partington established a studio and art school on Pine Street. Richard and Gertrude were soon working as sketch artists for local newspapers, while Blanche and Phyllis developed their musical talents.
Ambrose Bierce
In 1892, Blanche, then twenty-six, began an intimate friendship with fifty-one-year-old writer Ambrose BierceAmbrose Bierce
Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist and satirist...
. Blanche became one of the famed humorist's favored correspondents, a position she still retained at the time of his mysterious disappearance in 1914. It is generally assumed among Bierce scholars that the two were lovers, but it is clear from Bierce's early letters, during the summer of 1892, that Blanche looked to Bierce for instruction about a possible career in journalism. "When you are quite sure of the nature of your call to write--quite sure that it is not the voice of 'duty'--then let me do you such slight, poor service as my limitations and the injunctions of circumstance permit."
Yone Noguchi
In October of 1898, Partington began a friendship with the Japanese poet Yone NoguchiYone Noguchi
Yone Noguchi, or Yonejirō Noguchi, born 野口 米次郎 / Noguchi Yonejirō , was an influential Japanese writer of poetry, fiction, essays, and literary criticism in both English and Japanese. He was the father of the sculptor Isamu Noguchi.-Early life:Noguchi was born in the town of Tsushima, near Nagoya...
. This time, Partington played the role of teacher and Noguchi the student. "I think that you are so bright and full of good judgements," Noguchi wrote after they met through a mutual friend, Joaquin Miller
Joaquin Miller
Joaquin Miller was the pen name of the colorful American poet Cincinnatus Heine Miller , nicknamed the "Poet of the Sierras".-Early years and family:...
. "I am such a writer without good grammer and spelling. How I wish to know and have a fine adviser and 'sympatica'!" Partington helped Noguchi with his literary work, including an early version of The American Diary of a Japanese Girl
The American Diary of a Japanese Girl
The American Diary of a Japanese Girl is the first English novel published in the United States by a person of Japanese ancestry. Acquired for Frank Leslie's Illustrated Monthly Magazine by editor Ellery Sedgwick in 1901, it appeared in two excerpted installments in November and December of that...
. But their relationship was under strain by the time Noguchi left California in 1900.
Journalism
Partington's early years in journalism are still somewhat obscure. The death of her father, John Partington, in January 1899 may have acted as a stimulus. On March 18, 1900, the San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
published her interview with Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
. By November of 1900, she was writing regular drama and music reviews for the San Francisco Call
San Francisco Call
The San Francisco Call was a newspaper that served San Francisco, California. Because of a succession of mergers with other newspapers, the paper variously came to be called The San Francisco Call & Post, the San Francisco Call-Bulletin, San Francisco News-Call Bulletin, and the News-Call Bulletin...
. She served as the paper's official dramatic critic until the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
. Her main contribution was a regular Sunday column entitled "With the Players and the Music Folk," filled with assorted entertainment news, gossip, and interviews with local and visiting entertainers. In these columns and their midweek supplements Partington developed a casual interview style which foregrounded her easy camaraderie with the entertainers.
Jack London
By 1902, Blanche had become friendly with another important Bay Area writer, Jack LondonJack London
John Griffith "Jack" London was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone...
. She soon became rivals for London's affections with London's future wife, Charmian Kittredge. Charmian, in her memoir, writes of their battle for London's musical tastes. "At that time he cared far more for orchestral than for vocal harmonies, especially the Wagnerian operas. In the latter, as well as in quite a repertory of other operatic work, he had been well coached by his friend Blanche Partington, musical and dramatic critic on the San Francisco Call for seven years, who had taken him with her to many performances. I, on the other hand, favored the voice records above the instrumental. After several years, as one manifestation of his searching into the human, Jack leaned more and more to the voice, until he seldom put on the orchestral disks."
Christian Science
Partington's 1951 obituary notes that "More than 30 years ago she entered the practice of Christian Science and until her death maintained offices at 166 Geary Street." Her interest in Christian ScienceChristian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
began considerably earlier, perhaps in connection with her mother's supposed recovery from cancer in 1907. "Not that I believe a word of it," Bierce told George Sterling
George Sterling
George Sterling was an American poet based in California who, during his time, was celebrated in Northern California as one of the greatest American poets, although he never gained much fame in the rest of the United States.-Biography:Sterling was born in Sag Harbor, Long Island, New York, the...
. Charmian London recalled a "warm discussion" between Partington and Jack London on the subject of Christian Science in 1911.
Later years
After San Francisco's musical and dramatic scene collapsed in the 1906 quake, Partington did not return to her journalistic work at the San Francisco Call, and her later years, though she remained a part of the Bay Area's shrinking cultural milieu, were spent in semi-retirement. Partington was the last to receive a letter from Ambrose Bierce before his mysterious disappearance in Mexico in 1914. Jack London died in 1916.Blanche Partington never married. On March 12, 1951, at the age of 84, she died at the family home overlooking San Francisco's Buena Vista Park
Buena Vista Park
Buena Vista Park is a park in the Haight-Ashbury and Buena Vista Heights neighborhoods of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the oldest official park in San Francisco, established in 1867 as Hill Park and renamed Buena Vista in 1894. It is bounded by Haight Street to the north, and...
.