Works
His first love though was poetry. He wrote prose and verse for various papers and periodicals, his first efforts being printed in 'the Scotsman'. Longham, Green & Co. London in 1869 also published a volume of his poems. A new and enlarged version was published in 1883 by Kegan Paul, Trench & Co. London and another by Blackwood in 1896. A fourth edition by R & R Clark ltd Edinburgh 1905 and a fifth edition in two volumes was published by James Lewis, Selkirk in 1911. He also contributed essays on poetry as well as poems to 'Blackwoods magazine', the Cornhill magazine, chambers journal and other periodicals. Some of his essays were published by smith, Elder & co, London in 1878 in a volume entitled Ethical and Aesthetica of modern poetry and he was also author of Bible Truths with Shakspearean Parallels published by Whittaker & co., London in 1862 and of which two further editions were printed. His writings cover a fairly wide variety of themes - love, death, sorrow, regret, longing, religion, nature, philosophy and patriotism etc. as well as hymnology and political speeches. Undoubtedly the most popular of his poems is 'auld Selkirk toon' the words of which were put to music by G.R. Colledge and adopted as one of the towns songs at Selkirk's great annual festival - the common riding.
Read more about this topic: J. B. Selkirk
Famous quotes containing the word works:
“In saying what is obvious, never choose cunning. Yelling works better.”
—Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928)
“We do not fear censorship for we have no wish to offend with improprieties or obscenities, but we do demand, as a right, the liberty to show the dark side of wrong, that we may illuminate the bright side of virtue—the same liberty that is conceded to the art of the written word, that art to which we owe the Bible and the works of Shakespeare.”
—D.W. (David Wark)
“Night and Day ‘ve been tampered with,
Every quality and pith
Surcharged and sultry with a power
That works its will on age and hour.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)