Edward Capern

Edward Capern (January 21, 1819 – June 5, 1894), born at Tiverton, Devonshire, was an English poet.

A picture of Edward Capern from Devonshire characters and strange events.

Early years

From an early age he worked in a lace factory. His failing eyesight forced him to abandon this occupation in 1847 and he was in dire distress until he secured an appointment to be "the Rural Postman of Bideford," by which name he is usually known.

His poetry

Capern occupied his leisure in writing occasional poetry, which struck the popular fancy. Collected and published by subscription in 1856, it received the warm praise of the reviews and many distinguished people. Poems, by Edward Capern, was followed by Ballads and Songs (1858), The Devonshire Melodist (a collection of the author's songs, some of them to his own music) and Wayside Warbles (1865), and resulted in a civil list pension being granted to him by Lord Palmerston. His later work "Sungleams and Shadows" was published in 1881.

He is buried at Heanton Punchardon near Braunton, North Devon.

Capern's local reputation continued. Victor Canning, a thriller and travel book writer, noted that Capern's "is better poetry than one would expect from a postman, and if it has a little breathlessness then it shows how truly the postman who wrote it has worked his own personality into the lines." He added that Capern was known as "the Devonshire Burns".^[1]

References

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press