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THE CELTIC CONNECTION » DECEMBER 1995/JANUARY 1996
ROBERT BURNS
WHITE ROCK BURNS SUPPER
at STAR OF THE SEA HALL
SAT: JANUARY 27TH.
BOOK EARLY BY CALLING 336-1367 OR 939-3963 OR 434-9473
THE AULD SCOTTISH LARDER
4022 East Hastings Street Burnaby, B.C. V5C 2H9 (604) 294-6616
Order Early for Christmas, Hogmanay and Burns
Bakery In Store
1 Oatcakes • Biscuits • Scones • and a variety of pies
Smokehouse In Store
Large Selection of UK Food Items All other product made on the premises
Sausaqes
No additives, no preservatives, natural casing
Lome slices and bangers available Ham and Bacon
Ayrshire and Belfast • Smoked * Double Smoked Internationally Known Haggis
B.C. PIPERS' ASSOCIATION
1996 Professional Knockout Competitions
Come and see some of the World's
Best Pipers in competition in a relaxed cabaret style atmosphere
Saturday, January 13 — 8 PM Saturday, February 10 — 8 PM
Knockout final and annual dinner Saturday, March 9
Location: United Scottish Cultural Centre 73rd and Hudson, Vancouver
FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CALL (604) 522-9697
From Humble Origins to World Renowned Bard
By CELESTE SINCLAIR Scotland's greatest poet, Robert Burns, wrote in the Scots dialect of the country he loved so deeply. He captured not only Scotland's imagination but that of the world. His songs and poems are intense and realistic and they show his remarkable command of poetic form, especially for one with so little formal education.
Two centuries ago, the life of the peasant and small farmer was extremely arduous and precarious. Crop failure could mean ruin and starvation. Life was bleak and it was into this harsh environment that Ayrshire's greatest son was born. After 200 years, we are still compelled to gaze back with sympathy and marvel at how he triumphed in the face of such adversity.
Born on January 25, 1759, in Alloway, Ayrshire, Burns was raised in a home like the one he described in his poem The Cotter's Saturday Night. His father, William Burnes, was a Scottish tenant farmer and his mother was Agnes Brown Burnes.
Robert had little formal education, but he read whatever he could get his hands on, including Dryden, Milton, Shakespeare, and most of the Eighteenth Century English writers.
As a young boy, he worked long hours on his father's unsuccessful farm. Watching his father suffer. Burns began to rebel against the social conventions of his time, and the seeds of his poetry's satire were sown.
In 1784, William Burnes died and the family moved to Mossgiel, where Robert became a tenant farmer. He worked hard, wrote poetry and had numerous love affairs. His farm was not profitable and Burns was restless and dissatisfied.
His rebellion against the Calvin-ist religion of his community led the parents of Jean Armour to forbid her marriage to Burns, even though she was pregnant with his child. Burns turned to a new relationship with Mary Campbell, who is featured in his poetry as Highland Mary. He invited her to immigrate with him to Jamaica, but she died before they could leave.
In 1786, Burns published Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect in nearby Kilmarnock. It was an instant success and he soon forgot about Jamaica. The poetry in the volume highlights the lives of Scottish peasants. To a Mouse presents the world, from the point of view of a field mouse dug up by a plow.
Some of the work is satiric, such as the dramatic monologue Holy Willie's Prayer, which revealed the hypocrisy Burns saw in Calvinism. He also included some verse letters addressed to his friends and such characteristically Scots poems as The Twa Dogs and Address to the De'il'.
The "Ayrshire ploughman" went to Edinburgh, where he was flattered and feasted by the learned
ROBERT BURNS —1759-1796
and wealthy. After a season, however, the novelty of the ploughman poet wore off. Burns returned to Ayrshire and, having reconciled with Jean Armour and her family, married her in 1788. They leased a farm in Ellisland, and then moved to Dumfries, where Burns took a job as a tax inspector.
While he was in Edinburgh, Burns met James Johnson, who asked for Burns' help in editing and rewriting songs for his Scots Musical Museum. Burns proved to be a gifted and prolific songwriter, both in writing new lyrics and in rewriting old ones.
Burns considered the work to be in the service of his country and refused payment. He also con-
tributed songs to A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice. Burns revealed many of his interest in songs. His patriotism rings through in such verses as Scots Wha'Hae wi' Wallace Bled. His romantic self is expressed in his love songs, My Jean, A Red, Red Rose, and The Banks o' Doon. Other songs include Auld Lang Syne and John Anderson, My Jo.
He is renowned for his variety, satire and wit in verses, such as To a Mountain Daisy, Address to the Unco Guid, A Bard's Epitaph, My Heart's in the Highlands and Tarn o'Shanter. Burns died of rheumatic fever on July 21,1796, the same day his wife gave birth to their youngest son.
Year-Long Celebration
In 1996, the bicentenary of the death of Scottish poet Robbie Burns, a year-long festival is planned to commemorate his death. Attractions and events at the Burns International Festival will include a Burns theme park, major tourist packages, a touring theatre group and a film of the life and times of Scotland's bard.
The celebrations will be launched on Burns Night, January 25, with the world's biggest Burns supper and worldwide satellite links. A fantastic display of fireworks will light up the sky over the Burns National Heritage Park in Alloway. In Dumfries, a river of white light will flow through the town as hundreds of handmade lanterns meet and join in a procession before a special anniversary celebration at Loreburn Hall.
The celebration was initiated by the Burns Industry Group, involving Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish Tourist Board, the Burns Monument Trustees, Enterprise Ayrshire, Enterprise Dumbries and Gallow and the private business sector.
— Celeste Sinclair
For more information on The Burns International Festival, write 24 Sandgate, Ayr, Scotland KA7 1BY. Phone (011) 44-1292-288080 or fax (011) 44-1292-619622 or contact the British Tourist Authority in Toronto at (416) 925-6326.