Monday, January 26, 2009

Robert Burns Needs Your Help!

Statue of Robert Burns in Dumfries town centre...Image via WikipediaImage via Wikipedia

Imagine a world where no one compares love to a red, red rose; a world where no one joins hands on December 31 and toasts Auld Lang Syne; a world where no one gathers on January 25 to celebrate a haggis: imagine a world without Robert Burns. Born in Scotland, the work of Burns has touched nearly everyone in the world in the 250 years since his birth.

Burns was one of the world’s best communicators back in his day – indeed it was Burns who prompted Abraham Lincoln (who is such an inspiration to Barack Obama) to say “I cannot frame a toast to Burns. I can say nothing worthy of his generous heart and transcendent genius. Thinking of what he has said, I cannot say anything worth saying.”

Burns was also greatly loved by the founders of Texas, inspired John Steinbeck to title a book “of mice and men”?, and to this day inspires Russian children in many classrooms?

And now the National Trust for Scotland is trying to preserve and promote not just his works, but the legacy of the man with a new musueum in Alloway, Scotland – where he was born.

Burns has been on Twitter since last year with daily tweets from his work at www.twitter.com/ayrshirebard and now we’re using that twitter address – with some help from tipjoy – to see if it can also be used as a three-day fundraiser for the museum.

Via Tipjoy and the Ayrshirebard link, people are being asked for donations as little as $2 – though some people have joked they may donate $250 as it is Burns’ 250th – to help preserve the legacy of one of the world’s most iconic writers.

For more details, feel free to visit http://burnstwitter.wordpress.com/ with funding donations closing on Monday night.


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