It’s hard to over-state how highly Robert Burns is revered by people from Scotland. In 2009, this 18th century poet was voted “the greatest Scot” by viewers of a Scottish television station. Every year on January 25th, Scots from around the world meet to recite the poem Tam o’Shanter even though it’s written in a Scottish dialect that is largely incomprehensible to most of us today. He recorded and revised many traditional songs, such as “Auld Lang Syne” and “A Red, Red Rose.” He imagined a better world, and his work continues to inspires us to share his vision.
Robert Burns In Your Pocket: A Biography, And Selected Poems and Songs, of Scotland’s National Poet (Glasgow: Waverly Books, 2009), p. 228.