We end the week here on My Poetic Side with an article about Robert Burns. We also take a look at the paths once walked by a group of young poets.
WWE Superstar to Help Introduce Robert Burns to Youngsters
The Scottish born WWE superstar Drew McIntyre has joined forces with the National Trust for Scotland in order to help promote their most famous poet to a younger audience.
The wrestler hails from Ayrshire, the same as the Bard, and wants to help ensure that the interest of the younger generation is not lost for Robert Burns.
The campaign has been prompted by admissions from the NTS that the upkeep and maintenance of the Alloway cottage of the poet are becoming increasingly difficult, as visitor numbers are dwindling and are predicted to drop even further. The operations manager for the Robert Burns Birthplace museum points out that cottages such as this one, made of clay and thatch, were never built to last, and that whilst this one has been standing for 263 years there is extensive work both to the interior and exterior that will be required in the very near future.
Drew is hoping that his impressive career as a wrestler and his growing fan base will help him to fly the flag for the project and for Burns in a way that the NTS is currently struggling to do. He admits that as a youngster he did visit the Birthplace Museum however he didn’t really appreciate it, however as he has got older his appreciation for the bard has increased.
Although Drew is now based in America he says he has never been prouder of his Scottish heritage than now as he tries to help bring greater recognition for the poet Robert Burns.
Call For Assistance Clearing Paths Trod by Poets
The Windcross Paths Group are calling for volunteers to help them look after some of the paths that were once walked by some very famous poets.
The Dymock areas was a beloved area to a number of poets in the months leading up to the First World War, its visitors included Robert Frost and Edward Thomas. Now there are huge plans in place to help promote the paths as a significant tourist attraction. Several of the paths are of national importance such as Poets Paths 1 and 2 and The Daffodil Way.
It is hoped that a group of volunteers can be recruited who will be responsible for checking the condition of the paths, clearing litter and even trimming back overgrown brambles.
It is also hoped that soon the paths will once again become as popular as they once were when the Dymock poets used them over a century ago. The Dymock poet group also included Rupert Brooke the war poet who regularly visited the area. They were linked to the Georgian poets, a literary movement – the name came not from the Georgian era but from the fact that George V was the King at the time.
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