Collins, John

(?1742-1808)

   Actor, poet, orator, and musical entertainer, he was born, raised and educated in Bath, the son of a tailor. His work as a stay maker did not suit his personality and he was drawn to the stage at an early age, and by twenty he had appeared at a theatre in Smock Alley, Dublin, as young Mirabel in the Inconstant. He toured local taverns of England and Ireland, delivering lectures from The Brush, a collection of pleasant old theatrical stories (date unknown) with humorous songs all written by himself. Scripscrapologia, a collection of poems encompassing a great range of different topics and original poems from The Brush, was published in 1793. "Tomorrow" was included in Palgrave's Golden Treasury (1964) and some of his pieces were included in Frederick Locker-Lampson's (see entry) Lyra Elegantiarum (1867). Some of his other poems: "Ben Block, "Paternal Love and Filial Piety," "The Chapter of King," "The Desponding Negro" (an anti-slavery poem), "The Golden Days of Good Queen Bess," "The Golden Farmer," "The Hibernian Fisherman."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition, 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). Golden Treasury of the Best Songs & Lyrical Poems in the English Language. Francis Turner Palgrave, ed. Oxford University Press (1964, Sixth edition, updated by John Press, 1994). Lyra Elegantiarum. Frederick Locker Lampson. London: Ward, Lock & Co., 1867. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The Faber Book of Useful Verse. Simon Brett, ed. Faber & Faber, 1981.