Virginia Mishnun

Virginia Mishnun
Born(1909-03-06)March 6, 1909
New York, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 23, 2003(2003-06-23) (aged 94)
Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Other namesVirginia Mishnun Margolin, Virginia Mishnun Hardman
OccupationsWriter, arts critic, poet
SpouseJ. B. S. Hardman

Virginia Mishnun Hardman (March 6, 1909 – June 23, 2003) was an American writer, poet, and arts critic. She was dance critic at the Brooklyn Eagle in the 1930s, worked at the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs in the 1940s, and published two books of poetry.

Early life and education

Mishnun was born in New York, the daughter of Solomon Mishnun and Helen Mishnun. Both of her parents were Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe. She graduated from Hunter College in 1936,[1] and won the Helen Gray Cone Fellowship for graduate studies in English literature and criticism at Columbia University.[2][3] She earned a master's degree at Columbia in 1937,[4] with a master's essay titled "The concept of imitation in English literary criticism from Dryden to Young".[5]

Career

Mishnun began writing poetry in childhood; one of her early poems, "The Moon", was published in a 1927 anthology of poetry by children.[6] She performed as a modern dancer during college,[7][8] and with the American Laboratory Theatre. She directed the Workers' Dance Theatre.[9] She wrote dance criticism for the Brooklyn Eagle in the 1930s,[10] where she reviewed performances by Uday Shankar,[11] Ailes Gilmour,[12] Agnes de Mille,[13] La Argentina,[14] Tina Flade,[15] Anita Zahn,[16] Carola Goya,[17] Valeska Gert,[18] and Paul Haakon,[19] among many others.[20]

Publications

Mishnun wrote The Indian's Dog (1942), a storybook, and other published materials, when she worked for the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs in the early 1940s.[21][22] She wrote poetry, essays, book and arts reviews for various publications,[23] including The Nation.[24][25][26] Books Abroad,[27] and The Humanist.[28][29][30]

  • "The Moon" (1927, poem)[6]
  • "A Serape is All You Need in Mexico" (1942, article for young readers)[31]
  • The Indian's Dog (1942, fiction for young readers)[21]
  • "Ballet at the Metropolitan" (1943, criticism)[32]
  • "Benjamin Franklin: Friend of the Indians" (1943, with Anita Tilden)[22]
  • "Mexico: Vacationlands Unlimited!" (1950, magazine article)[33]
  • "Visitor from Buchenwald", "A Time to Pray", "The Equality" "The Giver" (1961)[28][29][30][34]
  • The Inheritors and Other Poems (1962, poems)[35]
  • "In Birmingham" (1963)[36]
  • J. B. S. Hardman, Labor at the Rubicon (1973, editor)[37]
  • Bright Winter (1977, poems)[38]

Personal life

Mishnun was the second wife of labor leader, writer and editor J. B. S. Hardman; they married in 1964.[39] Her husband died in 1968,[40] and she died in 2003, at the age of 94, in Gloucester, Massachusetts.[41]

References

  1. ↑ "Three Hunter Girls Win Prizes". The New York Times. June 2, 1936. p. 28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  2. ↑ "Wins Hunter Fellowship; Alumna to Continue Study of English at Columbia". The New York Times. March 30, 1936. p. 19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  3. ↑ "Eagle Dance Critic is Given Award for Work in English". Brooklyn Eagle. 1936-03-30. p. 7. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "183d Annual Commencement Exercises Will Be Held at Columbia Tonight". The New York Times. June 1, 1937. p. 17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  5. ↑ Columbia University Library (1927). Masters' Essays. University Library. p. 16.
  6. 1 2 Mountsier, Mabel (1927). Singing Youth: An Anthology of Poems by Children. Harper & Brothers. p. 59.
  7. ↑ "More Modern Dances; Second Recital in Series at New School for Social Research". The New York Times. February 27, 1935. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  8. ↑ Martin, John (February 24, 1935). "The Dance: Ballet Debut; New American Company in First Local Performances -- Week's Programs". The New York Times. p. 145. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  9. ↑ "Domestics to Study Intellectual Topics; Trade Union League Courses to Recognize Mental Interests of New Type of Worker". The New York Times. October 9, 1932. p. 18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  10. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1936-03-12). "Dance Recitals". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 13. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Mishnun, V. (1937-01-11). "The Dance: Shan-Kar and His Hindu Ballet Score Triumph in Performance at Majestic Theater". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 16. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1937-02-06). "The Dance; First Modern Dance Recitals at the New School". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 24. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1935-02-04). "The Dance; Agnes George de Mille Dance at Guild". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 19. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1935-01-04). "The Dance; La Argentina Dances in Brooklyn". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 8. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1936-01-13). "The Dance; Tina Flade Performs at Guild Theater". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 11. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1936-05-04). "The Dance; 'Arouse and Beware!' by Anita Zahn and Group". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 13. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1934-11-06). "Music; Carola Goya Returns to New York Dance Stage at Town Hall". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 20. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1936-12-07). "The Dance; Valeska Gert in American Debut". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 9. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1935-07-09). "The Dance; Fokine Ballets Please Stadium Audience". Brooklyn Eagle. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-04-02 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ Kriegsman, Sali Ann (1981). Modern dance in America: The Bennington Years. G. K. Hall. p. 172 – via Internet Archive.
  21. 1 2 Mishnun, Virginia (1942). The Indian's Dog. U.S. Office of Indian Affairs.
  22. 1 2 Mishnun, Virginia; Tilden, Anita (Spring 1943). "Benjamin Franklin: Friend to the Indians". Indians at Work: 20–24.
  23. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (August–September 1930). "Book Review: The Immoralist by André Gide". The Reflex. 6 (6): 86–87.
  24. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (November 15, 1941). "The Dance in Photographs (review)". The Nation. 153 (20): 489–490 – via Internet Archive.
  25. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (September 2, 1939). "The Mexican Enigma (review)". The Nation. 149 (10): 250–251 – via Internet Archive.
  26. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (October 4, 1947). "The Mexican Folk (review)". The Nation. 165 (14): 345–347 – via Internet Archive.
  27. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (1931). "Review of Hélier Fils des Bois". Books Abroad. 5 (1): 66–67. ISSN 0006-7431.
  28. 1 2 Mishnun, Virginia. "Visitor from Buchenwald." Humanist 21, no. 2 (1961): 88.
  29. 1 2 Mishnun, Virginia. "A Time to Pray." Humanist 21, no. 2 (1961): 76.
  30. 1 2 Mishnun, Virginia. "The Equality." Humanist 21, no. 3 (1961): 183.
  31. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (April 20–25, 1942). "A Serape is All You Need in Mexico". Scholastic. 40 (11): 28 – via Internet Archive.
  32. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (November 8, 1943). "Ballet at the Metropolitan". The New Republic: 653–654 – via Internet Archive.
  33. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia (January 1950). "Mexico: Vacationlands Unlimited!". The Pullman News: 2–9.
  34. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia. "The Giver." Humanist 21, no. 4 (1961): 207.
  35. ↑ Greene, Maxine. "Virginia Mishnun, 'The Inheritors and Other Poems'" (book review), Humanist 23, no. 1 (1963): 31.
  36. ↑ Mishnun, Virginia. "In Birmingham." Humanist 23, no. 6 (1963): 179.
  37. ↑ Mayer, Martin (March 24, 1973). "Labor's Journalist (review)". The New Republic: 24–26 – via Internet Archive.
  38. ↑ Mishnun-Hardman, Virginia (1977). Bright winter. Internet Archive. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-3382-0.
  39. ↑ "J. B. S. Hardman Weds Mrs. Virginia Margolin". The New York Times. May 28, 1964. p. 34. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  40. ↑ "J.B.S. Hardman, 85, Unionist, is Dead; Ex-Editor of Advance Urged Labor to Widen Role". The New York Times. 1968-01-31. p. 38. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-04-01.
  41. ↑ "Virginia Mishnun Hardman (paid death notice)". The New York Times. June 26, 2003. pp. B11.
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