2026 is the National Year of Reading, the aim of which is rediscover the joy of reading!
We have decided to use this campaign to focus on something rather special and unique….
We have in our collection several books of poetry that have been written by people from North Ayrshire. They were just ordinary people, with jobs - like Francis Love, who was a weaver from Stevenston, or May Wilson Watson who lived in West Kilbride and worked at ICI in Ardeer, or Thomas Allardyce who was a railway signalman. But they all had one thing in common – their passion for writing poetry.
Over time, copies of their poetry books have dwindled, so we thought we would share a selection of their poems on our website throughout this year, celebrating their works, and maybe even inspiring you to take pen to paper, or fingers to keyboards!
Francis Love
Francis Love was born in Stevenston in 1781 and went on to become well know in the West of Scotland, particularly in Masonic circles, as a skilled poet and song writer.
Francis was a member of the Stevenston Thistle and Rose Lodge for 59 years and worked as a weaver throughout his life. He was actively involved in numerous local charities and was an ardent admirer of Robert Burns.
Some of Francis Love's most famous works include 'The Lassie of Ardeer' and 'The Curler's Sang'. You can read them and more of his works HERE.
James Montgomery
James Montgomery was born in Irvine in 1771 and spent a large portion of his life living and working in Sheffield. He published the 'Sheffield Iris' newspaper and was most famous for his literary works, specifically his poems.
His most famous work was 'The West Indies', an anti-slavery epic, which was published in 1809.
You can read the poem and learn more about him on his page on our website HERE.
John Galt
John Galt was born in Irvine in 1779, the son of a sea captain. Ill-health resulted in sporadic attendance of Irvine Grammar School in his youth however he developed a love for the literary world and by the age of 25 he had already had some poems published.
Despite the failure of multiple business ventures, his literary career continued to thrive.
His most famous legacy is the town of Guelph in Canada, which he founded.
You can learn more about him HERE.
John Parkinson
John Parkinson was born in Kilwinning, losing both parents as a child and being raised by his grandparents. He worked as a wool spinner but was a voracious reader. Through his passion for reading, he taught himself astronomy, geography, maths, science, philosophy.
He converted to Islam in 1900 and discovered a talent for poetry, writing several books and a collection of poetry 'Lays of Love and War'. He worked in Burma for a brief period before being forced to return to Scotland due to poor health.
He died in Scotland in 1918 and was largely forgotten, having no family to remember him. He has been remembered in modern times as a skilled Scottish poet.
You can read more about him HERE.
May Wilson Paterson
May Wilson Paterson was born in 1906 at Lochwinnoch and worked at ICI, Ardeer, Stevenston. She lived in West Kilbride and was active in her local community, singing in her local choir, serving as Vice President of the Women's Guild and more.
She wrote many poems, such as 'Spring Song' and 'Fairlie Moor'. She has a page on our website where you learn more about her and read her poems HERE.
Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston in 1809 but was sadly orphaned at just 2 years old. He found himself taken in by John Allan and taken to Irvine in Scotland.
In Irvine he attended Kirkgate Grammar School and enjoyed playing in the graveyard of Irvine Parish Church.
Edgar would grown up to be one of the mast famous authors in history, credited with inventing the detective fiction genre and contributing to the emergence of science fiction as a genre.
You can read more about him HERE.
Robert Service
Robert Service was born in 1874 in Lancashire but returned to live in his father's native Kilwinning as a young boy.
Robert wrote his first poem at just 6 years old! This would be a lifelong passion, as he would publish books of poems throughout his life which also included spells living in Paris and serving in the First World War. He was also a novelist.
He returned to Kilwinning in 1930 and erected a memorial to his family in the cemetery.
He died in 1958 and is regarded as the only poet who became a millionaire within his lifetime.
You can learn more about him HERE.
Andrew Aitken
Andrew Aitken was a poet and farmer from Beith who was born in 1780. Despite never attending school, he was taught to read and write by his mother and became an avid reader.
He had multiple poems published in local newspapers as well as a collection published posthumously. You can read more about him HERE.
Thomas Allardyce
Thomas Allardyce was born in 1858, in Kilwinning, and worked as a railway signalman. He wrote poetry, with his early poems appearing in local newspapers which gave him the confidence to publish them.
His book 'Poems and Songs' was published in 1894 and some of his poetry can be read on his page on our website HERE.
Joan Kelly
Joan Kelly was born in Irvine around 1820 and spent large portions of her life in the poor house.
An intelligent woman, she was interested in world events and wrote poems on the subjects of the day.
You can learn more about her HERE.
John McKillop
John McKillop was a farmer and, later, a merchant. He was born in 1795 in Dalry and later moved to Saltcoats.
Despite a rudimentary education, he became a skilled poet, being known locally as 'the bard of Warrenhill'.
You can learn more about him and read some of his poetry HERE.