Hi James, Sally,
Well we poor hungry English had our Burns Supper! It was all as real as
Disneyworld, I guess.
A piper played in the honoured guests, the poem was read (well, declaimed is
a beter word for it!), the knife was waved, the haggis was cut at the
apppropriate point, everyone was supposed to down all their whiskey in one
gulp, then - after the food -the piper played again, songs were sung and
more of Burns poetry was read. (The veggie Haggis was actually very tasty!).
Despite all the tweeness of the experience I actually thought it was
important to glimpse something of another language, another time, and I'm
sort of thankful that the Scots have a day (a night) when a literary figure
is brought back to mind. I mean, I doubt that Slough would hold a John
Betjeman night...
The rest of the event was canny too (as a Scot and a Geordie can agree on
using the word!). 12 hours of poetry, lots of books sold by lots of
publishers who - until a year or so ago - could have expected big bookshops
to stock them, and plenty of fine crack!
Bob
>From: James Bell <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: The Pennine Poetry Works <[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: An All-Day Burn's Night Invite
>Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 09:03:49 +0000
>
>Have a good time Bob. "Canny" does not mean small in Scots by the way. I
>always feel that Burns would have a terrific laugh at the antics undertaken
>in his name and personally choose to run in the other direction. While the
>Burns reputation stands fully intact what came afterwards until MacDairmid
>appeared on the scene is the despised "kailyard" and the "supper" for me is
>a twee manifestation of the tartan and shortbread Brigadoon of the tourist
>boards. Sorry about the rant but all Scots don't subscribe to the feast of
>haggis and neeps. I believe you need a piper to pipe in the "beastie" too.
>
>
>
>bw
>James
>
>
>
>
>
>>From: Bob Cooper <[log in to unmask]>
>>Reply-To: The Pennine Poetry Works <[log in to unmask]>
>>To: [log in to unmask]
>>Subject: An All-Day Burn's Night Invite
>>Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2003 01:28:05 +0000
>>
>>Just in case anyone’s anywhere near the North East of England this
>>Saturday there’s a canny (that’s Geordie canny – ie BIG - and not Scots
>>canny, ie rather small) Poetry Day in Middlesbrough, starting at 11 in the
>>morning and ending after 11 at night!
>>
>>Why am I mentioning it?
>>
>>Well, as well as lots of other things, there’s the mega-big launch of All
>>We Know Is All We See at 5 in the afternoon, then a real Burns supper
>>where the haggis will be addressed by W.N. (Bill) Herbert (but I don’t
>>know what either of us will do with the “Great Chieftan o the puddin race”
>>after the pipes have played and the address “as lang’s my arm” is made –
>>because we’re both veggies!). (H’m, maybe like the haggis when it was
>>roaming free, and poor John Clare, we might have to eat grass…)
>>
>>If anyone can make it then it’s in the Crypt (a cat free crypt?) of the
>>Town Hall – - -
>>
>>- - - But if y can’t make it and you’d like to hear some of the poems that
>>you've read on yr screen set free to the air then if you let Roger Collett
>>or I know it may be possible to get a reading somewhere closer to you!
>>Bob
>>
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>>
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>
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