An Collins

W. Scott Howard (University of Denver)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.04: English Writing and Culture of the Seventeenth Century, 1625-1688.
Vol. editors: Jennifer Brady (Rhodes College), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Neil Forsyth (Université de Lausanne), Claire Preston (Queen Mary, University of London), J A Roe (University of York), Virginia Mason Vaughan (Clark University)

Dates

Born c. 1630
Died c. 1670
Activity 1653-c. 1653

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Cultural Identities

Feminist

Activities

Primary

Poet

Other

Dissenter
Humanist
Man/ Woman of Letters

Resources

All that is known to date about An Collins has been gleaned from the single extant copy of Divine Songs and Meditacions, her book of autobiographical, political, and religious verse. We do not know when and where An Collins was born; nor do we know anything specific about her family life, relations, or circle of friends and associates. We know neither the date nor the circumstances of her death.

An Collins’s religious beliefs have been variously defined by scholars as anti-Puritanical, Calvinist, Catholic, anti-Calvinist, and Quaker; her politics have likewise been described in a number of ways: critical of sectaries and Independents, pro-Commonwealth, opposed to the radical wing of Parliament, anti-Commonwealth, and Royalist. Her major accomplishment is her book of poetry, which has received critical acclaim (if from a small group of interested readers) since...

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811 words

Citation: Howard, W. Scott. "An Collins". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 16 August 2005 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5625, accessed 09 June 2026.]