With its proximity to the cultural hub of New York City and its quieter suburban and rural landscapes, Connecticut was fertile ground for artists and writers in the period of Modernist movements between 1913 and 1979. Many of these cultural figures are well known through biographical and critical studies. Creative Places seeks to show how place played a significant role in creative work, and how in turn the artists and writers influenced communities in Connecticut.
Irene Kampen
Fiction
1922 – 1998
- Biography/Description of Work
Irene Kampen began her career as a copy editor for a brief time, but soon traded it in for marriage and family. She moved to Ridgefield in 1954 and endured a bitter divorce, however the experiences from that formed the outline of a humorous book entitled “Life Without George” published in 1961. The book came to the attention of Lucille Ball, recently divorced from Desi Arnaz, and inspired The Lucy Show. Kampen wrote ten more humorous novels, equally drawn from her personal experiences, such as “Here Comes the Bride, There Goes the Mother” (1967) and “Nobody Calls at this Hour Just to Say Hello” (1967). Locally active, she was a frequent luncheon speaker at woman’s clubs. She remained in Ridgefield until 1988, living on Stonecrest Road, Lookout Drive and Rockwell Road.
- Sources view
- http://jackfsanders.tripod.com/G-L.htm, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Kampen, http://www.nytimes.com/1998/02/08/nyregion/irene-kampen-75-a-humorist-inspired-by-adversity-is-dead.html
- Associated Resource(s)
- n/a