I lived from 1865-1935.
I was from Great Britain.
I influenced poet Thomas Hardy.
I was influenced by poet John Hartley.
Better known as Teddy Ashton he was a prolific author of political tracts, novels and sketches and was also a poet both in the local dialect and in the "King's English"
It was as an author of dialect sketches and chronicler of the moors and the ‘windmill land’ of Fylde, surrounding his Blackpool home that he is best remembered in his native county.
His self-given title was “the poet of the poor” and his writing brings to life the workers and conditions in the cotton industry of the 19th century.
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Allen Clarke was born in Bolton, Lancashire , England in 1863 his father was Joseph Clarke and his mother was Martha Walsh. He received a standard public elementary school education but succeeded in becoming a well respected writer and publisher and the editor of the first Labour newspaper in his home county, namely “Labour Light”
He authored many books but he is most widely known for his humorous and dialect writing under the pseudonym Teddy Ashton (and some as Ben Adhem and some as “Capandbells”)
He began life working in a cotton mill where he was a “little piecer” – a boy worker in the mill in the morning and going to school in the afternoon. Later Clarke became an elementary teacher before he started writing for local papers and then becoming publisher and editor of his own paper. For a few years at the start of the 1890s he was on the staff of “Factory Times” and published Ashton’s Journal 1896 – 1908.
He was the founder of the Lancashire Authors Association in 1909
He was also a regular contributor to the Liverpool Weekly Post And Gazette And Herald.
He married twice [Lavina daughter of Thomas Pilling of Bolton was his first wife and Eliza, daughter of John Taylor of Chorley was his second] and he had 5 children , 3 sons and 2 daughters. He died on 13th December 1935 and is buried at Marton in Lancashire
Tolstoy was influenced by Clarke's writing and translated some of his books into Russian.
Bibliography:
*****this is only a partial list*****
The Red Flag as Allen Clarke. 20th century press 1908 [serialised first 1907-1908]
The Knobstick
Tales Of A Deserted Village
Effects Of The Factory System
John O’ God’s Sending
Smilers
What Is A Man C. W Daniel 1905
Tim Bobbin Resurrected [as Teddy Ashton]
Filligan Smilers [as Teddy Ashton]
More Smilers And Extra Smilers [as Teddy Ashton] Pub John Heywood 1907
Tales Of Old Blackpool And The Fylde [as Teddy Ashton] Pub John Heywood 1908
Science and the soul of what is man as ac C. W. Daniel London 1904
Lancashire lasses and lads Pub John Heywood 1906 (previously printed as a series of articles in papers)
Links of interest include
http://www.theboltonnews.co.uk/news/4385787.The_tale_of_a_literary____genius___/?ref=rss
My poetry
Neaw what does the word “gradely” mean? Well I’ll do my gradely best
To gie yo’ a gradely hint on it, an’ your own sense mun do th’
14 lines
Gie me a day wi' two breet een,
An’ smilin’ lips an’ a kissin’ face;
14 lines
It corn’t be helped, it corn’t be stopped,
When aw is done an’ said;
59 lines
On a little churchyard
Th’ rain is fawin’ dree,
26 lines
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