Louise Malloy (1858-1947)
As Baltimore’s first woman journalist and as a playwright, Louise Malloy was one of the most influential members of the WLCB. Malloy was a reproter and columnist fo the Baltimore American newspaper for more than three decades, beginning in the mid-1880s. During her long journalistic career, she wrote and edited material for the children’s page, and she also wrote editorials and reviewed plays. For over twenty years, she also wrote and edited the daily humor column for the American under the pseudonym Josh Wink. As Josh Wink, she published literally thousands of jokes and poems. Malloy was a serious advocate for social reform during her lifetime, but she was also very funny.
While expressing progressive views in her writing, Malloy is not known to have actively participated in suffrage or women’s rights movements. Her reticence may have been due to her devout Catholocism. Yet her sense of humor made readers stop and think about the treatment of women in a male-dominated society. Malloy was an admirer of William Shakespeare, as can be seen in her romantic comedy The Player Maid, which was written in 1905 and performed on Broadway and toured small theaters throughout the South. She was an early member of the WLCB but was most active in the 1910s, when she presented several of her plays during Club meetings.
Sources
“Catholic Alumnae Will Meet Today: Miss Louise Malloy to Discuss Maryland Writers Before State Chapter.” Baltimore Sun, Feb. 24, 1939
Gottlieb, Agnes Hooper. “Malloy of the American: Baltimore’s Pioneer Woman Journalist.” Maryland Historical Magazine 91.1 (Spring 1996): 29-46.
“Miss Malloy Gives Talk.” Baltimore Sun, May 12, 1911.
“Miss Louise Malloy.” Baltimore American, March 2, 1947.
Contributors
Kaitlyn Kutch; Francesca D’Aloia