(I wrote the first version before finding out that the NYT has a 150 word limit on letters to the editor. Here’s the edited version, less than half the length than the first.)
To the Editor:
I will agree it’s fun to give haggis a kick in the hurdies* from time to time. It’s definitely an acquired taste. I wish the editorial, A Night of Food and Song, had not grouped Burns’ poems in the same category.
I’m a college-educated speaker of American English who reads and memorizes Burns poems and songs. Yes, they use some unfamiliar words but with a glossary at hand, it doesn’t take long to read and enjoy his work with relative ease.
Use the anniversary of Burns’ birth to encourage people to sample his works instead of writing them off as too difficult. He had a keen eye for the human condition and a lively sense of humor. What he wrote rings true. It’s also fun to read.
Go read some Burns. You’ll be surprised how few “thorns and brambles” there actually are.
*buttocks
