{"id":6182,"date":"2012-01-17T06:17:34","date_gmt":"2012-01-17T11:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/?p=6182"},"modified":"2012-01-19T14:09:47","modified_gmt":"2012-01-19T19:09:47","slug":"robert-burns-days-are-here-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/?p=6182","title":{"rendered":"Robert Burns Days are Here Again"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Addressing the haggis at last year's Burns Supper<\/p><\/div>\n

Just when you were missing the holiday season, here is a great excuse for a party.\u00a0 If you’re looking for a reason to invite people over for good food and good fun,\u00a0you’ll find one in these weeks around\u00a0January 25, the anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth.\u00a0 Burns Season is here!\u00a0 Burns Suppers, those unique events which include readings of his poetry, a toast to\u00a0his immortal memory and, if at all possible, a haggis, have been held from 1802 (just six years after his death) until now.<\/p>\n

This year we’ll be celebrating Burns Night twice, on January 20th with friends away from home, and here on February 4th.\u00a0 If you’re going to be in the D.C. area on the 4th and you’d like to attend,\u00a0please let me know (soon!).\u00a0 We will be holding our meal in a smallish living room\/dining room with limited seating.\u00a0 If you’d like to host your own Burns Supper, let me know and I’ll be happy to offer suggestions.\u00a0 If it’s possible, I would love to attend your meal and address the Haggis, recite some Burns poetry, and chat a little about the great poet.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

Burns was a man of the people and of the earth.\u00a0 A farmer who always seemed to struggle to make ends meet, he loved life and living.\u00a0 He believed people should be true to their word, that freedom is a basic human right, and that government and religion should be more inclusive, more supportive of the men and women whose lives are so influenced by each.\u00a0 His poetry combines these beliefs with his gift for words and his zest for life, and are part of what makes a Burns Supper a fun celebration.<\/p>\n

A Burns Supper also provides an opportunity for every guest to participate by reading poems and singing songs.\u00a0 I enjoy watching the people around the table get in the swing of the event and become transformed through the power of beautiful words shared in the context of a meal.\u00a0 Burns Suppers are really not difficult.\u00a0 All you need is food, guests, a toast to Burns and a reading of at least one of his poems.\u00a0 You can add more elements if you’d like, but essentially, along with haggis which I think actually tastes pretty good, that’s it.\u00a0 Consider hosting one yourself.<\/p>\n

Here is\u00a0the first Burns Supper post<\/a> from last year which explains the thing in a bit more detail.\u00a0 Also, click on the Literary Event link in the right-hand column of this page, for\u00a0the Burns Supper\u00a0stories and posts\u00a0from last year or search for Burns Supper.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just when you were missing the holiday season, here is a great excuse for a party.\u00a0 If you’re looking for a reason to invite people over for good food and good fun,\u00a0you’ll find one in these weeks around\u00a0January 25, the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[30,52,658,571],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6182"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6182"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6182\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6199,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6182\/revisions\/6199"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6182"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6182"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.thelifeliterary.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6182"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}