John Askham



John Askham (July 25, 1825 â€“ October 28, 1894) was an English poet known as the "Shoemaker Poet."

Life
Askham was born in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, the son of a poor shoemaker. He was the youngest of a family of seven children, only two of whom survived. John attended Freemans School, but before he was 10 years old had been taken out to work in his father's shop. As an adult, John earned his living as a shoemaker, and taught himself to read and write. At the age of 25,inspired by an acquaintance who wrote political doggerel, John began composing poetry. He soon also began publishing his poetry, first in local newspapers, and then beginning in 1863 in books financed by subscriptions. . In 1871 Askham ran in Wellingborough's first-ever school board election, and won: "an indication of the esteem that the town had for this self-educated shoemaker poet." He went on to hold other local government offices. Askham was married twice, to a woman named Bonham, who bore him three daughters, and after her death to a woman named Cox. Askham's daughter by his second marriage died at 8 years of age, and his only son at eight months. It is said that "these personal tragedies ... gave much of his work its distinctive grace and charm, tinged with sadness. He threw himself into his work and more volumes of his poetry were published." Bonham himself died, "paralyzed by illness," in 1894. He is buried in Wellingborough's London Road Cemetery.

Recognition
Askham is commemorated with a heritage trail and a plaque in Wellingborough.

Publications
Except where noted, bibliographic information courtesy the University of Toronto.
 * Sonnets on the Months: And other Poems, Descriptive, Domestic, and National. Northampton: Taylor and Son, 1863.
 * Descriptive Poems, Miscellaneous Pieces and Miscellaneous Sonnets. (1866)
 * Judith and other Poems, and a Centenary of Sonnets. (1868)
 * Poems and Sonnets. (1875)
 * Sketches in Prose and Verse. (1893)