Thomas Blacklock

Gerard Lee McKeever (University of Stirling)

Ed. by Daniel Cook, University of Dundee
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.3: Scottish Writing and Culture, 400-present.
Vol. editors: Kate Ash-Irisarri (University of Edinburgh), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Gina Lyle (University of Glasgow), J. Derrick McClure (University of Aberdeen), Andrew Radford (University of Glasgow)

Dates

Born 1721
Died 1791

Places

Active in Scotland

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Blacklock's Works

Save to Bookshelf

Dr Thomas Blacklock (1721-1791) was a poet and man of letters born in Annan, Dumfriesshire. He suffered from smallpox as an infant and lost his eyesight. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and was eventually ordained as a minister in 1762. Blacklock’s blindness contributed to a rejection of him by the parishioners of Kirkcudbright. He received an annuity and relocated to Edinburgh, where he continued his literary career and ran a boarding house. His poetry went through a number of editions in his lifetime and he published a range of other work including sermons, translations and criticism. He is often remembered today for having played an instrumental role in the career of Robert Burns, influencing the young poet’s decision move to Edinburgh. The two would subsequently…

Please log in to consult the article in its entirety. If you are a member (student of staff) of a subscribing institution (see List), you should be able to access the LE on campus directly (without the need to log in), and off-campus either via the institutional log in we offer, or via your institution's remote access facilities, or by creating a personal user account with your institutional email address. If you are not a member of a subscribing institution, you will need to purchase a personal subscription. For more information on how to subscribe as an individual user, please see under Individual Subcriptions.

2715 words

Citation: McKeever, Gerard Lee. "Thomas Blacklock". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 September 2016 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=13764, accessed 31 October 2024.]