Chichester's 'brightest literary star'

Few people on the streets of Chichester - or indeed further afield outside certain circles - will have heard of him.

But penetrate the relative obscurity in which he rests in peace, and there is a fascinating poet awaiting discovery.

Paul, who taught for many years at the University of Chichester and its predecessor establishments, is championing a writer unjustly neglected.

"There is beauty, there is elegance, there is restraint and there is musicality," says Paul who has edited William Collins Poet 1721'“1759, the latest in the popular series of Otter Memorial Papers.

Published by the University of Chichester, it is available from the University shop and from the Chichester Cathedral shop.

Its pages bring together a collection of essays reassessing the man and his work, focusing on - among other things - his biographical context, his monument in Chichester Cathedral, his odes and his contribution to the literary tradition.

Paul admits little is known as to Collins' personality.

The sadness is certainly that his days ended in madness, the poor chap running shrieking through the cloisters.

Some accounts suggest his insanity reflected his deep disappointment at the way his works were received, though Paul is doubtful about this.

Another possible cause is that he was literally "as mad as a hatter". His father was a hatter in East Street in Chichester in the days when the profession used mercury, so sending a good number of milliners mad. Hence the expression.

But whatever the cause, Collins left behind him a significant if small body of work.

His writing career was effectively over by the time he was 30, and only around 20 of his poems survive, mainly odes - but there is much to commend them, according to Paul.

"They are odes that lift themselves above day-to-day activity. His titles are Ode To Simplicity, Ode To Mercy, Ode To Liberty."

And in them you can see the restraint and the elegance which are hallmarks of fine writing...

There are moves afoot to commemorate Collins with a blue plaque in East Street where he was born; and Paul hopes that the volume of essays might enable a few more people to discover him.

"We live within the fabric of history. We can't escape that. We live in the embrace of history. Collins has got a huge entry in the Dictionary Of National Biography.

"So he is still well-known within the literati, but in Chichester people don't know much about him at all."