Novelist and poet Keri Hulme expounds on the poetry of
Robert Burns. Photo by Craig Baxter.
West Coast novelist and poet Keri Hulme finds herself
returning again and again to the writings of Robert Burns.
Hulme lives at Okarito on the West Coast, and was Robert
Burns Fellow at the University of Otago in 1978.
Her novel The Bone People won the New Zealand Book
Award for Fiction (1984) and the Booker Prize (1985).
She yesterday gave the closing lecture at a day-long
symposium, titled "Dead Man's Ember: James K. Baxter and
Robert Burns", held at the Otago Museum's Hutton Theatre.
During her talk, attended by about 40 people, she reflected
on Burns' attitude to, and depiction of, animals in his
writings.
Not all of his work was equally appealing, but she found
herself "going back to, and back to" some of his poems and
songs.
She reflected that Burns, who was a farmer as well as a
lyricist, showed empathy with people and with many other
creatures.
Hulme read several poems by Burns, reflecting on his frequent
use of animals, and the "extraordinary range of creatures"
involved.
One work showed his knowledge of horses, and elsewhere he
mused on the life challenges faced by sheep and mice.
She noted Burns had been lauded for brilliantly vigorous
conversation, and Baxter, also a former Burns Fellow, was
known for his conversational skills.
The free public symposium, held by the University of Otago's
Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies, aimed to explore
"Baxter's imaginative engagement with Burns's poetry and
personality".
One of the organisers, Liam McIlvanney, who holds the
university's inaugural Stuart Chair in Scottish Studies,
praised Hulme for her "marvellous" talk.
The overall symposium had been "great", fruitfully bringing
together many different perspectives, including from
academics, and from other writers, Prof McIlvanney said in an
interview.
Baxter, who died in 1972, aged 46, knew some of Burns' poems
by heart from an early age. He subsequently reflected a great
deal on Burns, including in several essays.
Other speakers included poet and former Burns Fellow Ian
Wedde, of Wellington, Lawrence Jones, Prof McIlvanney, Dougal
McNeill and John Stenhouse.
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