Thousands of published poems originally printed in The Daily News in St. John's, Newfoundland from 1970-1984.
Thousands of published poems originally printed in The Daily News in St. John's, Newfoundland from 1970-1984.
In the first few weeks of 1970, an otherwise average father of five did an unusual thing. He approached one of the two local daily newspapers in St. John's Newfoundland, suggested that he write a poem every day to be published by the paper, and that he be paid as a freelance columnist. Surprisingly, they said yes!
The Daily News was published every morning. The publishers said they'd give Nish's poem idea a try for a month or so. The poems were immediately popular, and continued to be a daily feature until the paper ceased publication in 1984.
My name is Ron Collins, and I am Nish Collins' son. My parents made it a habit to cut Dad's poems out of the paper, and collect them. That collection is now in my possession, and I wanted to digitize the printed words. I decided to type them instead of doing any kind of scanning process so I could experience the poems myself, but there was some information missing. The paper copies did not include the dates because they were printed in the middle or the bottom of the page in the newspaper, far away from the date printed on the top of each page. By accessing microfiche copies of the paper at a local library, I've been able to date each poem. I also chose to record the headline from the Daily News each day, to help create a historical context. Speaking of "historical context", you may wish to read the disclaimer on the "About Us" page.
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Updated May 9, 2025
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