Surname: Holland Forename(s): John b. 14 March 1794. d. 28 December 1872. Nationality: English. VIAF.
Working-class poet and writer. Born and lived in Sheffield. Self-taught. Member of
the Wesleyan Chapel in Carver Street, Sheffield. Trained in making optical instruments,
like his father, but left the trade to work as a writer. Wrote on a wide variety of
subjects, including geology, botany, and topography. Friends with James Montgomery,
correspondent of John Clare. Editor of Sheffield Iris (1825-1832) and Newcastle Courant (1832-1833), and co-editor of Sheffield Mercury (1835-1848). Author of poetry volumes Flowers from Sheffield Park (1820), The Cottage of Pella, A Tale of Palestine, with Other Poems (1821), The Village of Eyam (1821), Hopes of Matrimony; and Other Poems (1822), Diurnal Sonnets (1851). Never married. Biographical information: ODNB , Goodridge. (AC)