Author: Smith, James
Biography:
SMITH, James (fl 1819)
A death notice for his father, Alexander Smith, a shepherd of Covenhill, Carstairs, Lanarkshire, states that James was 60 in 1825. He was then probably born in about 1765. He lived in Wishaw, Lanarkshire, and became known as “the Wishaw Poet.” Little else is known for certain but he may have been the James Smith who married Catherine Lindsay and had at least two sons. His book is in the Scottish dialect and dedicated to Lady Belhaven. No copy of the first edition has been traced. (Perthshire Courier 15 Dec. 1825; John Black, Melodies and Memories [1909]; Correspondence with R. Steele 19 Feb. 2022)
Books written (1):
2nd edn. Edinburgh: printed for the author, 1819