Robert Burns Day at St. John’s College

By Szymon Galazka

Robert Burns Day is a way to celebrate the poetry and life of Scotland’s greatest poet, Robert Burns. It is held annually around the world, including St. John’s College, on the anniversary of his birthday on January 25^th.

We held our Robert Burns event at the best place for the poetry-loving student body: The College Bookstore. The celebration attracted a number of students and tutors who were all given little glossaries with a translation of some of the words from Scots, the language spoken in the Scottish Lowlands, into English. With this necessary aid to our understanding of his poetry, we listened to the beautiful recital of one of Burns’ longest poems, “Tam o’ Shanter”. The poem is said to be the author’s own favorite, which comes as no surprise to us at all! For 15 minutes, the pace of the narrative poem, numerous jokes, and the use of English and Scots moved the Bookstore to 18^th century Scotland. It was a fun experience for everyone and we are looking forward to celebrating the Robert Burns Day in 2019!