Archive
This material, has been submitted to the Federation by respected Burnsians over time. We hope Members & Visitors will use these articles as a catalyst for comment, discussion & friendly debate on our facebook page or within the Discussion Forum. FACEBOOK LINK
Contributions from members and respected visitors, help us build a significant resource of material for others to refer to, learn from and enjoy. To this end, we'd be delighted to receive articles from any interested parties, whether experts in the field or keen amateurs. Contact Admin
April 15th RBWF Talk on Bonny Jean Armour by Lesley Richardson with music by Pauline Vallance.
2021 RBWF Talk on The Loves of Robert Burns Delivered by Angus Middleton :
2020 RBWF St Andrew's Lecture - delivered by Prof Patrick Scott. Topic was :
Video of the lecture
In October 2020 the RBWF were involved with Tamfest a festival built around Tam o' Shanter. As part of that event the following was offered :
Lecturing Tam on the ABCs
Monday 5th October - A. “In and Out of Tam o’ Shanter” Delivered by Jim Thomson, who is a past president of the Federation - based on his book of the same name. Video of the event :
Wednesday 7th October - B. “Tam o’ Shanter; A Tale of its First Publication” Delivered by Bill Dawson, who is a past president of the Federation - What drove Burns to compose the poem and when was the actual first date of publication :
Friday 9th October - C. “Supernatural Burns” Delivered by Marc Sherland, President of the Federation - Why was Robert Burns so obsessed with the spooky and the supra-natural? Video of the Lecture
3. Tam the Glorious - Saturday 10th October - Competition video - An international competition for the best ‘Glorious Tam’ recitation through use of Zoom. judged by RBWF Senior Vice President, Henry Cairney; Polly Beck, Speech & Drama Specialist; Jackie Higgins, Senior Vice President of Dumfries Ladies Burns Club.
Contestants : David Brown, Ron Pratt, Simon Lamb, Andy Harrower, Jim Osborne
The winner in 1st place was Andy Harrower and in 2nd place David Brown. Congratulations to every participant. Video of the event :
Please note below some other resources which have been made available to Burnsians.
- The Lassies who inspired Burns - by Jessie S. F. Pettigrew
- The Immortal Memory - by Michael Murray
- Burns had a word for it - by Dr James A. Mackay
- Poet on a tightrope - by Sam Gaw
- "Ballad on the American War" - by Dr James A. Mackay
- Armani Burns - by Phil Miller
- Robert Burns and Freemasonry - by Todd Wilkinson
Trades House Library - Recently I became aware of a tremendous resource at the Library in the Trades House of Glasgow, managed by their Archivist, Craig Bryce. Trades House Digital Library: https://www.tradeshouselibrary.org/robert-burns.html. He delved into this library to come up with the following Burns related online books :
A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch by Charles McKay LL.D, published in 1888 has been included in this section.
The following Books on Burns can be downloaded for free for private use :
Should Christians Celebrate Burns Birthday? by Rev. Fergus Ferguson, 1869
A Primer of Burns by William A. Craigie, 1896
The Bibliography of Robert Burns ~ With Biographical and Bibliographical Notes, and Sketches Published 1881
The Burns Scrap Book: Or Odd Moments with the Lovers of Scotia's Darling Poet by John D. Ross, Published 1893
Robert Burns, Scotia's immortal bard : his life and labours by Rev. Robert Grant (1894)
The land of Robt. Burns, and other pen & ink portraits J Campbell, Published 1884
The Complete Poetical Works Of Robert Burns
The National Burns Vol 1 by Rev George Gilfillan
Annual Burns Chronicle and Directory by the Burns Federation, Kilmarnock (1919)
The World's Memorials of Robert Burns by Edward Goodwillie (1919)
The Memory of Burns. Brief Addresses Commemorating the Genius of Scotland's Illustrious Bard by John D. Ross LL.D.
Robert Burns ~ a birthday address on the life and character of the plowman bard by Samuel Phelps Leland (1886)
Robert Burns and the Medical Profession by William Findlay M.D. (1898)
The Burns Calendar ~ A Manual of Burnsiana Published 1874
Robert Burns and Dumfries ~ 1796-1896 by Philip Sulley, Published 1896
Robert Burns, how to know him by William Allan Neilson, Published 1917
George Thomson ~ the friend of Burns ~ his life and correspondence by J. Cuthbert Hadden, Published 1898
Robert Burns as a Volunteer: some fresh facts which further help to confound the poet's critics by William Will, Published 1919
The Roseberry Burns Club of Glasgow by James Angus, Published 1906
Henley and Burns by John D. Ross LL.D., Published 1901
Early Critical Reviews on Robert Burns by John D Ross LL.D., Published 1900
The Works of Robert Burns with an account of his life and criticism on his writings Volume 1 of 4 by James Currie M.D., Published 1819
Robert Burns in Stirlingshire by William Harvey, Published 1899
St. Louis nights wi' Burns by Walter B. Stevens, Published 1913
Gutenberg Resources on Burns
This material is ideal for researching Burns' work. For example if you are searching for references to particular person or thing just click the appropriate link then use your browser's search function to search for the word or phrase you are seeking. In Internet Explorer this can be done from the top menu by selecting "Edit" then "Find on this page".
The Complete Works of Robert Burns: published in 1841, this book contains his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham. Includes all Burns' letters.
The Letters of Robert Burns, by Robert Burns #3 in their series by Robert Burns.
Poems and Songs of Robert Burns #1 in their series by Robert Burns.
Robert Burns in Google Books
Google search engine has an amazing book repository where thousands of old books have been digitised. This a tremendous free resource for students of Robert Burns.
Bear in mind that the pages of these books have actually been photographed rather than the text being transcribed so they do take some time to load if you don't have a good internet connection. Enjoy!
The Complete Works Of Robert Burns (1855)
Poems, chiefly in the Scottish dialect (1824)
The Works of Robert Burns: With an Account of His Life, and a Criticism of his Writings (The James Currie book from 1835)
Reliques of Robert Burns: Consisting Chiefly of Original Letters, Poems and Critical Observations(The R. H. Cromek book from 1809)
The Works of Robert Burns: With His Life (Allan Cunningham 1834)
Robert Burns: As a Poet, and as a Man (Samuel Tyler 1848)
The Works of Robert Burns: Containing His Life (By John Lockhart 1849)
The Correspondence Between Burns and Clarinda: With a Memoir of Mrs. McLehose (1843 Arranged and edited by her grandson W.C. McLehose)
Robert Burns: A Memoir (1858 Rev. James White)
Life of Robert Burns (1859 Thomas Carlyle)
The Centennial Birth-day of Robert Burns (1860 As Celebrated by the Burns Club of the City of New York)
A Letter to a Friend of Robert Burns (1816 William Wordsworth)
Celebration of the Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of Robert Burns (1859 The Burns Club of Boston USA)
The Scottish Minstrel: Being a Complete Collection of Burns' Songs (1818)
A Critique on the Poems of Robert Burns (1812 George Gleig)
