Thomas Pringle
Thomas Pringle was a Scottish poet and writer, born in 1789 in Roxburghshire, Scotland. He pursued his education at the Kelso Grammar School and later attended Edinburgh University, where he formed a connection with the notable author Sir Walter Scott. In his early career, Pringle worked as a clerk and coedited the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine, which evolved into Blackwood's Magazine. In 1817, he married Margaret Brown and published his first poetry collection, "The Autumnal Excursion," in 1819.
In 1820, Pringle emigrated to South Africa with his family, where he initially settled at Eildon Kloof. He later moved to Cape Town, becoming a government librarian and opening a school. His progressive views led to censorship challenges, prompting his return to London in 1826, where he became active in the abolitionist movement. Pringle published his second poetry collection, "Ephemerides," and gained acclaim for his poem "Afar in the Desert," praised by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His later work, "African Sketches," reflects his experiences in South Africa, and he is often regarded as the father of South African poetry in English, despite his relatively short time in the region.
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Thomas Pringle
Writer
- Born: January 5, 1789
- Birthplace: Blaiklaw, Roxburghshire, Scotland
- Died: 1834
Biography
Thomas Pringle, the son of a farmer, was born in 1789 in Blaiklaw, Roxburghshire, Scotland. In his youth he attended the Kelso Grammar School, northwest of Blaiklaw. In 1805 he entered Edinburgh University, where he met the author Sir Walter Scott. After working as a clerk for the Scottish commissioner of public records in Edinburgh, he began coediting the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine (which would later become Blackwood’s Magazine in 1817 and Constable’s Magazine. On July 19, 1817, Pringle married Margaret Brown, and he published his first book of poems, The Autumnal Excursion, two years later.
In February, 1820, when he was thirty years old, Pringle and Margaret, along with Pringle’s brother, father, and stepmother, Margaret’s sister, and other travelers, left Scotland for South Africa, arriving at Eildon Kloof on June 29. Two years later, in September,1822, after the group had established their community, Pringle relocated to Cape Town and became a government librarian. Within two years, he had opened a school and become coeditor of the South African Commercial Advertiser.
His reform stances led to the censorship of some of his publications, and in 1826 Pringle departed South Africa, resettling in London. There he devoted himself to writing and to antislavery efforts; he served as secretary for the Society for the Abolition of Slavery until his death eight years later. Two years after his arrival in London, he published a second collection of poems, Ephemerides, and several of his poems appeared in George Thompson’s Travels and Adventures. Poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge praised Pringle’s poem “Afar in the Desert,” considering it one of the best lyric poems in English. His African Sketches, published in 1834, recalled the writer’s six years in South Africa. Despite his relatively brief residence there, Pringle has been called the father of South African poetry in English.