In the dark of January, the birthday of Scottish poet Rabbie Burns is the crack that lets the light in. A night of warming food and fiery whisky – and yes, a few words – January 25 is still celebrated across the world.
Its global appeal is not such a surprise. Burns’ work has travelled extraordinary distances, far beyond the boundaries of dialect. The Soviet Union printed stamps in his image, Steinbeck used his line to title Of Mice and Men and Michael Jackson supposedly came up with Thriller after reading Tam o’ Shanter. In Japan, pedestrians still cross the street to the jingle of Comin' Thro' the Rye, and back in 2010, a miniature collection of his work orbited the earth 217 times; Burns travelled more than 5.7 million miles.
