Joseph Skipsey was an English poet

Poet

A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...

, born near North Shields

North Shields

North Shields is a town on the north bank of the River Tyne, in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, in North East England...

.

From childhood he worked in the mines. He published a few pieces of poetry in 1859, and soon after left working underground and became caretaker of Shakespeare's house at Stratford-on-Avon. During the last 30 years of his life he published several volumes of poetry, including The Collier Lad and Carols from the Coal Fields; and he edited some volumes for the "Canterbury Poets." Memoir

Memoir

A memoir , is a literary genre, forming a subclass of autobiography – although the terms 'memoir' and 'autobiography' are almost interchangeable. Memoir is autobiographical writing, but not all autobiographical writing follows the criteria for memoir set out below...

by R. Spence Watson

Robert Spence Watson

Robert Spence Watson was a solicitor, reformer, politician and writer. He became famous for pioneering labour arbitrations.On the 9th June 1863 he married Elizabeth Spence Watson....

(1908).

External links

• Joseph Skipsey (1832-1903): the 'Pitman Poet' at gerald-massey.org,uk