Allan Ramsay

Allan Ramsay (c. 15 October 1684 – 7 January 1758) was a Scottish poet (or makar), playwright, publisher, librarian and impresario of early Enlightenment Edinburgh. Ramsay's influence extended to England, foreshadowing the reaction that followed the publication of Percy's Reliques. He was on close terms with Britain's leading men of letters and corresponded with William Hamilton of Bangour, William Somervile, John Gay and Alexander Pope.

He began writing poetry as a member of the Easy Club and in 1715 became Club Laureate. Ramsay published verses and turned bookseller in 1718, selling poetry collections like Wealth and the Woody, a satire on the South Sea Company. In 1720, he collected and published his poems, establishing a circulating library in 1726. Ramsay edited The Tea-Table Miscellany and The Ever Green and is considered as a pastoral writer and editor who revived interest in vernacular literature.

Leigh Hunt sees Allan as a major contributor to the early naturalistic literary reaction of the 18th century. His The Gentle Shepherd, showed an appreciation of country life and anticipates the attitude of Romanticism with a neo-classical tradition. He is viewed as the connecting-link between the greater "Makars" of the 15th and 16th centuries and later Scottish writers like Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns.