Cournos, John, 1881-1966

John Cournos, born Ivan Grigorievich Korshun (Иван Григорьевич Коршун; he himself used the form Johann Gregorevich for his original name) (6 March 1881 – 27 August 1966), was a writer and translator of Russian-Jewish background who spent his later life in exile.

Cournos was born in Zhitomir, Russian Empire, and his first language was Yiddish; he studied Russian, German and Hebrew, with a tutor at home. When he was ten years old his family emigrated to Philadelphia, where he learned English.

In June 1912, he moved to London, where he freelanced as an interviewer and critic for both UK and US publications and began his literary career as a poet and, later, novelist. He later emigrated to the US, where he spent the rest of his life.

He was one of the Imagist poets but is better known for his novels, short stories, essays and criticism and as a translator of Russian literature. He used the pseudonym John Courtney. He also wrote for The Philadelphia Record under the pseudonym "Gorky."

Later in life he married Helen Kestner Satterthwaite (1893–1960) who was also an author, under the pseudonyms Sybil Norton and John Hawk. However, he is probably best known for his unhappy affair with Dorothy L. Sayers, fictionalised by Sayers in the detective book Strong Poison (1930) and by Cournos himself in The Devil Is an English Gentleman (1932).