poetry | Whose Town?

The short’ning winter-day is near a close
The miry beasts retreating frae the pleugh
The black’ning trains o’ craws to their repose
The toil-worn Cotter frae his labor goes

We’ve just made some some lovely illustrations from a 19th Century volume by John Faed available through Capital Collections. These pictures bring to life the story of Robert Burns’ poem, The Cotter’s Saturday Night. The cotter, a farm labourer, journeys home after a long and tiring week at work. He is welcomed back to his small home by his eager awaiting family to spend the evening by the fireside.

Use this delightful exhibition to expand on Nancy’s story of reciting this, her favourite Burns poem, to win a school competition.

Burns night is just a couple of weeks away and if you’re looking for a different way to introduce Robert Burns to your class this year, why not open up Nancy’s Life in a Box within Whose Town?

Nancy had kept few personal possessions from her wartime childhood, but on her bookshelf still sat her book prize from the Burns Society’s annual Burns competition. Nancy came 2^nd in the competition and if you listen to her entertaining story, you’ll find out how she felt to miss out on the top spot.

Watch video clips with your class and you’ll hear Nancy’s story and even a recital of ‘The Cotter’s Saturday Night’, the poem she chose for the competition. Go to the objects section in Nancy’s Life in a Box to find her poetry prize. (If you don’t have a Glow login, take a look at Nancy’s exhibition on Capital Collections to find out about her wartime schooldays.)

Robert Burns’ ‘The Cotter’s Saturday Night’

Haggis, neeps and poetry