Book Description
The most essential of the immortal poems and songs of Scotland's beloved national bard are collected in this volume.

With the publication of his first book of poems in 1786, Robert Burns—the twenty-seven-year-old son of a farmer—became a national celebrity, hailed as the "Ploughman Poet."When he died ten years later, ten thousand people came to pay their respects at his funeral, and in the two centuries since then he has inspired a cultlike following among Scots and poetry lovers around the world.

A pioneer of the Romantic movement, Burns wrote in a light Scots dialect with brio, emotional directness, and wit, drawing on classical and English literary traditions as well as Scottish folklore—and leaving a timeless legacy.All of his most famous lyrics and poems are here, from "A Red, Red Rose," "To a Mouse," and "To a Louse" to Tam o'Shanter, "Holy Willie's Prayer," and "Auld Lang Syne." ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The other Bard
Robert Burns may not be well known outside of Scotland, but he certainly deserves to be. Sadly, Burns too often gets shoved aside to make room for the English Romantic heavywieghts like Bryon, Blake, Shelley, Keats and Wordsworth, and if he does get mentioned in an anthology or classroom, it's usually as some curious footnote about the "renewed appreciation for the common man" that many Romantics extolled. This is a great disservice, and not just to Burns, who, as any good Scot would tell you, was enough of an influence on those English Romantics that the movement would have looked very difference without him. It is a disservice also readers and students of poetry who are entitled to more honest history about the evolution of the poetic art form in English.

The irony here is that Burns was Scottish, and, to correct what another reviewer said, he did not write in English - especially "old English." For starters, Burns lived in the second half of the 18th century - that makes him a modern. Furthermore, he wrote very intentionally (and with great passion) in *Scots.* The Scots language is a bit of a linguistic conundrum concerning what makes a dialect a dialect versus a completely different language. Suffice to say, it's not English, or at least not any English most English speakers would recognize. It does possess Germanic qualities that are parallel to English, but it also has many holdovers from Norse and Gealic languages both in vocabulary and syntax which are unique to it. This distinction needs to be understood, for the reader's sake as well as for Burns, whose usage of Scots as opposed to English or a more Anglicized form Scots was a point of national and ethnic pride. Indeed, Burns was quite the Romantic.

The glossary of Scots words in this volume is rather limited, but even a more thorough Scots dictionary may not always help you. Burns, who is called sometimes "the Bard" in his native Scotland, is liken to that other Bard - he was never shy about using poetic license and would gladly bend the rules of his own tongue if it served his creative goals. Of course, that's part of Burns' genius, even if it can be infuriating for a novice reader, just as with Shakespeare. But with some patience and effort, you will find that Burns' poetry is not only readable but quite accessible and enchanting, even if you don't always know what every line's suppose to mean.

Despite the language issue, one thing is readily understood about Burns' poetry - it is some of the most spirited and passionate poetry you are likely to find anywhere. Some of his poetry may strike you, the post-modern reader, as a bit naive - especially some of his political poetry - but you cannot deny that Burns, who sadly died too young, was in life a hearty, virile lad eager to experience all the intellectual and sensual pursuits to their fullest. You know this because that's how he wrote. Poetry for Burns was an exaltation of life itself, from the grand idealism of revolutionaries to the most commonplace things such as field mice, to the loveliness of sex and the company of women (of which Burns was quite fond) and the sensual wonder of whisky and food (again, much fondness) to inspiring richness of all things Scottish.

It would seem that if Burns saw it, thought it or felt it, it was worthy to be immortalized in poetry. Moreover, he earnestly endeavored to do just that. Thankfully, he also had the poetic talents to pull it off in a stunningly graceful manner that will right your dry, academic impressions of all those overly lauded English Romantics that came after him as well as infuse you a fair bit of that Romantic wonder and awe.

Hopefully I have piqued your curiosity, and if so, get this book. As with all the volumes in the Pocket Poets series, it's inexpensive, well-bound, concise without being too narrow, and of a small, unimposing size that makes it ideal for either casual reading or for some quick yet stimulating diversion while traveling or communting. Or if you really want to be a Romantic about it, take with you to your local cafe or pub and read through some poems while you partake in the delights of food, drink and the world around you.

An edition good enough for gift giving
This book is purse or pocket sized.It has the convenience of a paperback with the quality of a hardback.It is a dark green book with a matching built in silk bookmark.The paper is of good quality.

The sections of this book are as follows: FOLK-TALES FOR AN ENLIGHTENED AGE, RELIGIOUS SENTIMENT AND SATIRE, CONTEMPORARY POLITICS, LOVE AND SEX, SCOTTISH CULTURAL HISTORY, and OCCASIONAL AND BIOGRAPHICAL VERSE.The book also contains a select Scots glossary and an index to the first lines of the poems.

The glossary is helpful. I find this book difficult to read due to the old English that was used when this was written.I do enjoy the poems, but I have to work at it though.I can not just carelessly float through the text.I struggle, but it's the challenge and the struggle that makes the reward all the more satisfying when I do get there. ... Read more

Book Description
Drawing on extensive scholarship and the poet's own inimitable letters, this edition, with extensive explanatory notes and a full Scots glossary for each of the poems, provides the most complete edition of Burns's work ever published. The poems and songs are also supplemented by a wealth of information on Burns's life and times. This controversial yet thorough reappraisal of the poet features over a dozen newly attributed poems and songs, which demonstrate that the poet's political sympathies were more radical than he could safely put his name to in public print. The Canongate Burns also includes the sexually scandalous versions known as "The Merry Muses," originally circulated only in handwritten copies. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (6)

Canongate has one "n"(see review below)
One of the reviewers below suggests the general level of critics of this book in apparently not knowing how to spell the name of the press.

The Canongate Burns has many typographical errors and should not be used as the only source one has of Burns's texts.It has, however, admirable notes outlining Burns's political writings of his last years.Several probable new works by Burns have been uncovered by the authors (and they are clearly labeled as works that appeared anonymously or under pseudonyms in newspapers).

In bringing Burns out of the shadows of "Holy Willie" self-righteousness and bardolatry,this edition is much to be commended.James Kinsley (The Oxford Standard authors) is to be preferred as your popular text of the poems, but if you want to know more and are truly interested in Burns and the political contexts in which he wrote, the Canongate Burns is an inimitable gloss on Burns as a person and on the ideas behind the poetry.

Poppycock
The Cannongate Burns has been thoroughly debunked as rubbish of the highest order by legitimate Burns scholars both in the US and Scotland.Three of the most predominate scholars of Burns who have disavowed not only the total lack of scholarship in the book but the obvious absolute disregard of research and validation of their facts by both Noble and Hogg are Ross Roy, Professor emeritus atThe University of South Carolina and recognized as one of the world's most knowledgeable Burns scholars,Gerard Carruthers,member of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies (member of council); Scottish Catholic Historical Association; Newman Association (Chair of Glasgow Circle); and the Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society as well as a lecturing professor of English Studies at the University of Glasgow and Dr. James A. Mackay author of the 1992 Saltire Literary Award winning 'Burns' A biography of Robert Burns which is today recognized as the diffinative Burns biography of the 20th century and who is considered among world's foremost Burns Scholars.I am sorry that readers have been taken in by the trash called the Cannongate Burns but there it is. Shirley Kacmarik

An affordable, provocative edition
This is an exciting edition which I, as a beginning reader of Burns, find myself picking up again and again. In offering the reader a radical Burns, rather than the folksy popular bard, editors Noble and Hogg bring clarity to the image of the poet, though I sometimes worry that it's a false clarity. Their desire to replace the porchiness of the old image with one of radical potency comes through in a sentence like this, describing Burns's challenge to the conservative pro-Hanoverian establishment: "They were faced with someone hyper-literate, fecundly allusive to a degree far beyond their powers in canonical literary and biblical tradition, who could not only talk their pants off but, it was feared, those of their wives and daughters as well" (lii). Burns thereby gets turned into a Jacobinic superhero who had the aristocracy secretly shaking in their boots. This seems like a bit of critical wish-fulfillment. Though hardly unknown, Burns did not have the celebrity that Scott would later have.

Perhaps just as problematic, their repeated aligning of Burns with Romantic poets like Wordsworth implies that Burns was a self-originating genius. While Noble and Hogg offer a magisterial indictment of Burns's posthumous de-politicization which anyone interested in the period should read, they spend far less time commenting on his much more obscure 18th-century sources. While they discuss the contemporary historical situation of Scotland well, they offer no information at all about dialect verse, a tradition which after all Burns did not invent in that country. Beneath it all seems to be an almost impossible desire to define Burns as a "national" poet while avoiding anything that might wall him into an "ethnic" tradition.

Despite these Romantic overtones, Noble and Hogg want to position Burns as part of the radical Enlightenment. And the editors' resuscitation of this legacy restores a sense of excitement not only to Burns, but also to the entire period. It's hard not to relish the combative tone with which they hold up Byron's Jacobinism for comparison, even though it seems facile and perhaps wrong: "Was the mine-owning self-dramatizing aristocrat ever under the cosh in the way Burns was? Is individual nihilism of the Byron, Baudelaire variety the necessary prelude to utopian change?" (xci) Their editorial strategies are also innovative; I appreciate the bold decision to append their interpretations after each poem, rather than in the traditional hard-to-reach, tiny-font footnote, or in the old headnote that meekly pretends to "frame" the ensuing poem. These discussions helped to clarify some of the difficult poems, as well as offering something to contend with. All in all, this is among my favorite editions of a major poet, even though I might question some of its methods.

Excellent work
This is an excellent compilation of Burns' work, including many poems that were previously unpublished, unpublished in English language compilations or published under Burns' pseudonyms. The annotations, translations, and commentary are both helpful in understanding and interpreting this evocative and beautiful cornerstone of modern Scottish culture

Excellent work
This is an excellent compilation of Burns' work, including many poems that were previously unpublished, unpublished in English language compilations or published under Burns' pseudonyms. The annotations, translations, and commentary are both helpful in understanding and interpreting this evocative and beautiful cornerstone of modern Scottish culture ... Read more

Book Description
This edition of Burns's poems and songs is taken from Professor Kinsley's three-volume Oxford English Texts edition (Clarendon Press 1968) hailed as the first really scholarly and critical edition for more than seventy years. It contains all of Burns's writings, including those reasonably attributed to him. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

My Favorite Poet
This is a nice collection of Robert Burns poems and songs. It is well done and very complete. There is an interesting chronology and a glossary of old Scottish words. Very well done and a reasonable price. I just received my copy and I am thrilled with it. It's amazing how much Burns wrote in his short lifetime. The rustic beauty of the poems and the sublime rhyme schemes are simply amazing and very moving. I recommend this book for someone who wants an inexpensive collection of Robert Burns.

The Kinsley ed. is superb
One of the best and most trusted editions of the complete poems and songs of Robert Burns (1759-1796). Try to get one, if you can. (N.B.: The James Barke edition is also excellent.) ... Read more

Book Description
Eleven contemporary writers and academics analyze the place of Scotland´s best-loved poet in relation to literary and social institutions since the eighteenth century. From "Burns and God" to "Burns and Sex", the essays reflect upon why Burns´s work has acquired worldwide cultural importance. Nobel prize winner Seamus Heaney, novelist A. L. Kennedy, poet Douglas Dunn and literary historian Marilyn Butler are among the impressive array of contributors to this lively volume. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Must-read for any Burns afficianado!
Ian McIntyre, with this elegantly researched and crafted volume, has established himself as a truly exceptional biographer.This was the first work on Burns I have read that presented a compelling portrait ofthepoet as we know him from his work: a complicated mix of joy and sorrow, deep thought and bawdy humor, loyalty and infidelity, generosity and poverty, arrogance and innocence, British patriot and sentimental Jacobite.McIntyre's incisive and compelling research, copiously documented in notes, completely debunks the equally silly positions of overly sentimental hero-worshipers (mostly Scottish) and effete Burns-trashers (mostly English).McIntyre demonstrates what Burns lovers have known all along: all of Burns' poetry was not good--but when he WAS good, he was one of the truly great poets.The author also wades into many of the great Burns' controversies.He presents the evidence for Burns heavy (if not excessive for the time) use of alcohol, without diminishing Burns' worth as either a man or an artist.His depiction of the "Highland Mary" debate alone is worth the price of the book.This will become THE essential book on Burns, and it is apropriate (and probably essential) that it was written by a Scotsman. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Most indepth research of any Burnsian scholar!
R.B.: A Biography of Robert Burns
by James MacKay

Dr. Mackay, associated with the Burns Federation and editor of the Burns Chronicles did an extraordinary, in-depth research of Robert Burns's life from his birth to his eternal memory after death. It is the "bible" for anyone who needs first hand facts about not only Robert Burns but also those who shared any portion of his life. For any shelf that contains Mr. Burns's poetry and songs, it is a sure guide to help understand the man himself.

Cheers! Janet "the Other Scot"

PLAGIARISM!!! BEWARE!
It is sadly known in the scholarly world that this and many other books by this person are low-quality acts of plagiarism. It should not even be on sale, as many other bookstores that have taken his books off the shelves. Shame on him and shame on Amazon. Anyone can check the news on the internet searching for "mackay"+"[...]". ... Read more

Book Description
EVERYMAN'S POETRY LIBRARY: This new series of the world'sgreatest poetry features the hallmarks of Everyman Classics: top-qualityproduction and reader-friendly design along with helpful notes andcritiques. Each edition is also a great value, especially for thosereaders beginning to explore the work of this remarkable poet. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Burns book of poetry to set off your favorite reading chair!
Robert Burns: The Tinder Heart

This hard cover book encompasses every thought of the "ploughman poet." His eloquent words roll from your tongue so it is better to read aloud his verse in order to catch much of his meaning. If you choose to read silently, allow the words to envelop your imagination within your mind. Many a night I love to sit and read then think about his words. Thankfully, the editors put it into alphabetical order so that Robert Burns poetry turns into a mixture of his thoughts rather than his tender words of love in one section, his political philosophy in another and then just a romp of fun in another. His fierce Scottish loyalty resounds from each of his words in such poems as "Scots Wha Hae." Many people consider "Ae Fond Farewell" or "A Red, Red Rose" to be the most wonderful of Burns love prose but to me "Afton Water" speaks of his true love in life. Be sure to read "Tam O'Shanter: A Tale" aloud in order to feel the rhythm within this great piece of fun and poetic verse.

Have fun, enjoy but by all means, purchase this book and show it off proudly on a table by your favorite reading chair. It's too beautifully bound to be put on the shelf and catch dust!

Beautiful Burns Book
This book is what I reach for before I go to sleep, have always loved poetry & tend to read when I seek solace. Love this Robert Burns book, very nicely done, reasonable price, if you have never given Burns a try & wish to expand your reading list, this would be an excellent addition. Also as a nice gift it is a kind & thoughtful book to share with others.

no definitions
The other evaluators of this book must have read a different book!This is a beautiful, hardcover book with a vast assortment of Burns' poetry; however, there are no definitions in the margin.There is a glossary in the back, but I bought this book believing that the definitions were listed with each poem (thereby making them easier to read), and they are not.

Toom your pocks an' put this beuk in't
I need Burns beside me as I live life, and this is a great one-volume collection of his greatest works in a convenient format. Glossed well; you won't have to use an index at the back of the book. Here's tae ye, Rabbie!

Great! Brief definitions in margin facilitate understanding.
Robert Burns uses a lot of Scots words, but any word you don't understand is defined in this edition in the margin right alongside the poem. So reading is smooth and very enjoyable. A great introduction to Robert Burns,and a good companionto other volumes. "Cutty Sark" means skimpypetticoat!! ... Read more

Book Description
The Letters of Robert Burns is a complete revision of the earlier text established by J. De Lancey Ferguson.A number of new letters have been added and completed from manuscripts that have come to light since the Ferguson edition--there are letters to twenty-five new correspondents--and
footnotes have been expanded to indicate the source of all Burns's quotations where these can be identified. The endnotes have been expanded to indicate letters to which Burns'sare answers as well as answers received by Burns to the letters he sent.An appendix contains Currie's List of Letters
to Burns, a document of major importance as it represents a selection of letters that were in the poet's possession at the time of his death. ... Read more

Book Description
The 10 specially commissioned poems in this book pay tribute to Robert Fergusson, continuing a tradition of homage to Scotland's national poet, while sounding their own contemporary notes. Sometimes gleeful, sometimes solemn, this book both winks at and scrutinizes a poet who was in several ways strikingly different from the poetic master Robert Burns. Poets and critics from three continents come together in this volume to suggest just what it is about Fergusson that makes him still seem "heaven-taught." ... Read more

Book Description
Series Editors: James Nagel, University of Georgia; Zack Bowen, University of Miami and Robert Lecker, McGill University

The full range of literary traditions comes to life in the Twayne Critical Essays Series. Volume editors have carefully selected critical essays that represent the full spectrum of controversies, trends and methodologies relating to each author's work. Essays include writings from the author's native country and abroad, with interpretations from the time they were writing, through the present day. Each volume includes:

• An introduction providing the reader with a lucid overview of criticism from itsbeginnings-illuminating controversies, evaluating approaches, and sorting out the schools of thought
• The most influential reviews and the best reprinted scholarly essays
• A section devoted exclusively to reviews and reactions by the subject's contemporaries
• Original essays, new translations, and revisions commissioned especially for the series
• Previously unpublished materials such as interviews, lost letters andmanuscript fragments
• A bibliography of the subject's writings and interviews
• A name and subject index

Book Description
Robert Burns wrote songs, satires, and verse-letters along withthe luminous poetry which has delighted readers for more than 200years. Since the first edition of this encyclopedic guide to his lifeand work was published in 1959 it has been regarded as the definitiveguide to an important literary figure. This third revised and updatededition includes the latest scholarship about the poet and his work andfills in details of little-known characters in the Burns story.Includesillustrations from period paintings and etchings that bringthe people and places of Robert Burns' Scotland to vibrant life. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Burns Fan
This book gives all you need to know about when and where
Burns met anyone,wrote his poetry,whom the poem was
about and many other items of interest about Burns.

companion guide to Burn's works
Och, every Scots should have a copy!! Maurice Lindsay is a well-known poet, broadcaster and writer on many aspects of Scottish life and Literature (see his Castles of Scotland for one). He has written several on Burns already.
If it touched Burns, it's listed here. This is not a collection of Burns poems, but a companion to them. An excellent work for people just becoming acquainted with Scotland's beloved poet and need to understand the poetry better. Many editions of Burns works have glossaries to help with the Scots, but it still leaves the general reader or student with a lot of questions. This book fills in the gaps, so should be used as a study companion piece to books with Burns' complete works.

Highly recommended for fans of Burns wanting to understand the man and the period he lived.

a very definitive work on Robbie Burns
Och, every Scots should have a copy!!Maurice Lindsay is a well-known poet, broadcaster and writer on many aspects of Scottish life and Literature (see his Castles of Scotland for one).He has written several on Burns already.

If it touched Burns, it's listed here. This is not a collection of Burns poems, but a companion to them. An excellent work for people just becoming acquainted with Scotland's beloved poet and need to understand the poetry better.Many editions of Burns works have glossaries to help with the Scots, but it still leaves the general reader or student with a lot of questions.This book fills in the gaps, so should be used as a study companion piece to books with Burns' complete works.

Highly recommended for fans of Burns wanting to understand the man and the period he lived.

Who's who & what's what in Burns
Just about every person, place, or thing mentioned in the songs and poems of Robert Burns (1759-1796) is given a paragraph or two. Indispensible encyclopedia on the "most gifted British soul" of the 18thcentury. ... Read more

Book Description
1888. Blackie, a Scottish scholar and man of letters, writes about the life of Robert Burns, the Scottish poet whose great popularity with the Scots lay in his ability to depict with loving accuracy the life of his fellow rural countrymen. His use of dialect brought a stimulating, much-needed freshness and raciness into English poetry. While largely written about Scots, his poems have universal appeal. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing. ... Read more