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James Thomson (poet, born 1834)
Scottish journalist, poet, and translator (1834–1882) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
James Thomson (23 November 1834 – 3 June 1882), who wrote under the pen name Bysshe Vanolis, was a Scottish journalist, poet, and translator. He is most often remembered for The City of Dreadful Night (1874; 1880), a poetic allegory of urban suffering and despair. Thomson's pen name derives from the names of the poets Shelley and Novalis; both strong influences on him as a writer.[1] Thomson's essays were written mainly for National Reformer, Secular Review, and Cope's Tobacco Plant. His longer poems include "The Doom of a City" (1854) in four parts, "Vane's Story" (1865), and the Orientalist ballad "Weddah and Om-El-Bonain". He admired and translated the works of the Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi and Heinrich Heine.[2] In the title of his biography of Thomson, Bertram Dobell dubbed him "the Laureate of Pessimism".[3][4][5]
James Thomson | |
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![]() Thomson in 1860 | |
Born | (1834-11-23)23 November 1834 Port Glasgow, Scotland |
Died | 3 June 1882(1882-06-03) (aged 47) London, England |
Pen name | Bysshe Vanolis |
Education | Royal Military Asylum |
Period | 1863–1882 |
Notable works | The City of Dreadful Night |
Signature | |
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