Introduction
Robert Burns (1759–1796) was a Scottish poet and songwriter, widely regarded as Scotland’s national poet. He is considered a pioneer of the Romantic Movement and after his death became an important source of inspiration to the founders of liberalism and socialism. Burns collected folk songs from across Scotland and often revised or adapted them. His poem (and song) “Auld Lang Syne” is often sung at New Years and “Scots Wha Hae” served as the unofficial national anthem of Scotland for many years. Burns’s night is still celebrated by many people Scottish people around the world on the 25th of January.
The core of the Robert Burns collection at BYU was donated by Mrs. Robert Forster, a former librarian at the Salt Lake Public Library, and the BYU Library continues to actively collect primary and secondary works (biographies and criticism), relating to the life and career of Robert Burns, including all editions of works by Burns. Some examples of BYU’s holdings in the Burns Collection include the following:
- Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. Edinburgh: William Creech, 1787.
- Letters Addressed to Clarinda, &c. Glasgow: Niven, Napier and Khull, 1802.
- Burns' Celebrated Songs. Edinburgh: J. Robertson, 1805.