Alexander Wilson

Born in 1766 in Paisley, Alexander Wilson grew to manhood during the Scottish Enlightenment. He attended Paisley Latin Grammar School and was privately tutored by a Presbyterian divinity student. When he was 10 his mother died and his formal education ended. He became a weaver and honed his artistic skills as a designer and weaver of fine, silken gauze. He had been writing poetry since at least age 10 when he sold a poem, ΓÇ£Castle SempleΓÇ¥, to a wealthy landowner. He published two volumes of poetry and wrote the verses for a hymnal. Following the lead of Robert Burns he wrote increasingly in Scots dialect, the peopleΓÇÖs language. He protested working conditions in the weaving mills. His protest poetry led to his arrest and conviction on a charge of blackmail. After his release from prison Wilson decided to emigrate to the United States where he landed in Philadelphia in 1794. In the first chapter a poet writes about WilsonΓÇÖs contributions to the Scottish enlightenment and his support of the workers. In the second chapter a poet looks at WilsonΓÇÖs shift to writing about nature.For almost ten years he taught school. Then he conceived the idea of describing all the birds of the United States. The result was the nine-volume American Ornithology, which is the product of WilsonΓÇÖs passionate interest in birds and his commitment to interdisciplinary thinking.