William Topaz McGonagall
1825 - 1902
William McGonagall was a Scottish poet and public performer. He gained notoriety as an exceptionally poor poet who exhibited no recognition of or concern for his peers' opinions of his work. McGonagall wrote about 200 poems, including "The Tay Bridge Disaster" and "The Famous Tay Whale", which are widely regarded as some of the worst in English literature. Groups throughout Scotland engaged him to give recitations from his work, and contemporary descriptions of these performances indicate that many listeners appreciated McGonagall's apparent skill as a comic music hall character. Collections of his verse remain popular, with several volumes available today.Poems
- A Tale of Christmas Eve
- An Autumn Reverie
- To Mr James Scrymgeour, Dundee
- The Wreck of the Barque 'Wm Paterson of Liverpool'
- The Wreck of the Steamer 'Mohegan'
- The Famous Tay Whale
- The Wreck of the Barque 'Lynton'
- Descriptive Jottings of London
- The Burning of the Steamer 'City of Montreal'
- A Requisition to the Queen
- An Ode to the Queen
- The Wreck of the 'Columbine'