Although Burns Nicht has passed, Robert Burns (1759-1796) enthusiasts, or any with an interest in the Scots language generally, will be pleased to know that a major exhibition of Burns work is now showing at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. Called Robert Burnss Glenriddell Manuscripts the exhibition reveals to the public a major collection of letters and poems, now recognised as the single largest collection of original Burns work in the world.

Robert Riddell of Glenriddell in Dumfriesshire, a neighbour of Burns, was something of a fan and had earlier presented Burns with two blank volumes for the poet to fill with new material. One contains letters and the other poems. Eventually these landed in the Liverpool Athenaeum in 1853, but in order to raise funds, the collection was sold in 1913 to John Gribbel of Philadelphia, USA. Gribbel, however, believed they should be returned to Scotland and so donated them in 1914 to the Scottish nation. In 1926 the collection was moved to the National Library of Scotland.

The exhibition, also containing Burns work from other collections, is currently showing at George IV Bridge in Edinburgh, admission free, and open daily Monday to Friday 10am to 8pm, Saturdays 10am to 5pm and on Sundays 2pm-5pm.The exhibition continues until 30 March 2014.

Below is a link to a podcast showing NLS curator Robert Betteridge who was recently filmed giving a short talk about the manuscripts and the exhibition.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_c9D2S-a_-A