John Nevay, the bard of Forfar, was born in that town on the 28th of
January 1792. He was educated at the schools of his native place, and
considerably improved himself in classical learning, at an early age,
under the tuition of Mr James Clarke, sometime master of the Burgh
School, and the friend and correspondent of Burns. Fond of solitary
rambles in the country, he began, while a mere youth, to portray in
verse his impressions of the scenery which he was in the habit of
surveying. He celebrated the green fields, the lochs and mountains near
the scene of his nativity, and was rewarded with the approving smiles of
the family circle. Acquiring facility in the production of verses, he
was at length induced to venture on a publication. In 1818 he gave to
the world a "Pamphlet of Rhymes," which, obtaining a ready sale, induced
him to publish a second small collection of verses in 1821. After an
interval devoted to mental improvement, he appeared, in 1834, as the
author of "The Peasant, a Poem in Nine Cantos, with other Poems," in one
volume, 12mo. In the following year he published "The Child of Nature,
and other Poems," in a thin duodecimo volume. In 1853 he printed, by
subscription, a third volume, entitled "Rosaline's Dream, in Four Duans,
and other Poems," which was accompanied with an introductory essay by
the Rev. George Gilfillan. His latest production--"The Fountain of the
Rock, a Poem"--appeared in a pamphlet form, in 1855. He has repeatedly
written prose tales for the periodicals, and has contributed verses to
_Blackwood's Magazine_ and the _Edinburgh Literary Journal_.
From the labour of a long career of honourable industry, John Nevay is
now enjoying the pleasures of retirement. He continues to compose verses
with undiminished ardour, and has several MS. poems ready for the press.
He has also prepared a lengthened autobiography. As a poet, his
prevailing themes are the picturesque objects of nature. His lyrical
pieces somewhat lack simplicity. His best production--"The Emigrant's
Love-letter"--will maintain a place in the national minstrelsy. It was
composed during the same week with Motherwell's "Jeanie Morrison," which
it so peculiarly resembles both in expression and sentiment.