Little is known about Cook. After her husband was arrested for debt, she attempted to make money by writing a cook book. This work contained a poem attacking Hannah Glasse (author of the best-selling The Art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy), with whom Cook was engaged in a lifelong feud. The DNB characterizes the poem as "a piece of appalling doggerel." Cook's poem provides an instance in which verse (for whatever reason) is a strategically-chosen medium, rather than an attempt to craft an enduring piece of literature by a committed poet.
A barrister, Concanen wrote plays, poems, and essays. In some of his works, he attacked Pope and Swift; in return, he was ridiculed by Pope in the Dunciad. The income from his political and literary endeavors enabled him to live in "affluent retirement" (DNB).
Collins displayed literary talent at a young age, writing poems (and contracting debts) while at university. He got his start in GM, and by early 1744 was considered by the London public an author, circulating a subscription. Though ambitious, he was not completely committed to writing and most of his works achieved only mild success. He depended largely on inheritance for his uncertain income, but, with a propensity for living lavishly, he managed his finances badly and was often in debt to his landlady. Some accounts claim that he squandered his inheritance and lived in poverty.
A washer-woman, Collier is best known for her spirited, well-written poem "The Woman's Labour: an Epistle to Mr Stephen Duck." She did not initially intend to publish, but the Advertisement states that ‘Her Friends are of Opinion that the Novelty of a Washer-woman's turning Poetess, will procure her some Readers’.
Collier had a hodgepodge of jobs; he was primarily a schoolmaster, but taught privately, and acted as hedge lawyer, composing letters, wills, indentures, and other documents, in order to supplement his small income. He became notorious for his squibs, satires, poetry, and practical jokes. Later, he became a renowned caricaturist. Collier considered any sort of steady work "slavery" and preferred "liberty in rags." He wrote under the pseudonym Tim Bobbin, and some of his more politically sensitive works were printed surreptitiously.
Coffey moved to London to pursue playwrighting, where his first ballad opera, The Beggar's Wedding, became the hit of the season. His 1731 ballad opera 'The Devil to Pay, or, The Wives Metamorphos'd,' born of a collaboration with John Mottley, was a sensation; once Theo. Cibber abridged it to one act, it became the most performed afterpiece of the century. His other dramatic endeavors, however, were largely failures. He had a knack for humor, but was more successful in collaboration than his independent work.
Alison Cockburn wrote poetry and songs throughout her life, but she evidently considered her work as "personal pieces or items to be shared with friends between dinner toasts" (DNB). As such, only a few of her poems were published, the most famous being her anonymous lyrical lament ‘Flowers of the Forest’. At first, many thought that it was an old ballad from the time of Flodden Field. Robert Burns later imitated it in his own ‘I dreamed I lay’ in 1776. Cockburn, however, is remembered more for her correspondence than her poetry.
Cobden was a poet at an early age; some of his later verse celebrated the memory of King Charles I, the royal martyr, and Queen Anne, founder of the bounty to the clergy. Cobden was better known, however, for his topical sermons. A high-church clergyman, he quickly accumulated a number of preferments, eventually becoming a court preacher upon his appointment as a chaplain-in-ordinary to King George II in 1730.
A clergyman, Clavering worked his way through the ranks, eventually becoming bishop of Peterborough. Apparently, his many preferments, as well as his wife's fortune of £2000, allowed him to leave in "luxury and ease." Though he published many sermons, they were generally considered uninspired. Skilled in the language, he published Hebrew poetry in university collections.
Lewis was good friends with Samuel Bowden, who took an interest in helping her publish. Together, they published in various periodicals, Lewis under the pseudonym 'Sylvia.' When she moved to Tetbury after marrying, she became actively involved in local charities. "In 1774 she donated £50 for the maintenance of alms women in the town." Her only volume of poetry was published in 1789; although Lewis demonstrated considerable talent in "wit" and "acute social observation," her work was largely ignored by contemporary reviewers.