Dirt & Deity

By Ian McIntyre,

Book cover of Dirt & Deity: Life of Robert Burns

Book description

This biography illuminates and explores the complexities and contradictions of Burns's character and personality, untangling the myth from the legend. Based on new evidence from 700 letters Burns wrote during his life, McIntyre concentrates on the circumstances of the writing of poetry itself, and paints a vivid picture of Burns's…

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1 author picked Dirt & Deity as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Claire R. McDougall Author Of Dirt & Deity: Life of Robert Burns
Claire R. McDougall
Author

This is an extensive biography of Scotland’s celebrated bard, Robert Burns, and includes a collection of unpublished letters. Scotland’s own “heaven taught ploughman,” gave life a run for its money, giving us in his few but fruitful years lines of poetry that match Shakespeare himself. 

Oh, would some 
Power the giftie
gie us
To see ourselves as
Others see us!

McIntyre gives Burns a good shot. No Scottish writer, including myself, could think of their career trajectory without Robert Burns standing out prominently along that line. He gave us the gift of hubris and the gift of the poetic gab. 

From Claire's list on to lose yourself in the dream that is Scotland.

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