Burns and Black Lives

About the Book: 

Would Burns ‘Take the Knee’ today?

How could our Burns, the people’s poet, look to become an instrument in what many now call ‘The Black Holocaust’?

Did Burns intend to travel knowing he would become a slavedriver, and broadly what that meant in terms of imposing suffering on others?

Did this knowledge change his mind on emigrating to Jamaica?

What would Burns have done had he actually gone?

In the last decade of his life, as the debate for Abolition grew louder in Scotland, to what extent did this campaigning tide of information  change his mindset?

How was Burns used after his death in the fights for Abolition and Emancipation, particularly in the USA – in its Civil War and its  Civil Rights movement?

Through meticulous research and a compelling narrative,  Clark McGinn examines Burns’ connections to the transatlantic slave trade, highlighting the paradoxes and moral conflicts during the poet’s time.  He does not shy away from uncomfortable truths, presenting a nuanced portrait that challenges readers to reconcile Burns’ literary genius with the ethical ambiguities of his time.

Burns and Black Lives is an essential read for those interested in the intersections of literature, history and social justice, offering a profound  re-examination of one of Scotland’s most iconic figures. 

Reviews: 

Clark McGinn, a true Scot, examines our heritage and our culture, and discusses how our proud history and traditions defi ne the enigmatic, idiosyncratic race that we are today. SHARI LOW, Daily Record on The Ultimate Burns Supper Book

This is the best, the clearest, the sharpest, the only guide you will ever need. PROFESSOR MURRAY PITTOCK on The Ultimate Burns Supper Book

About the Author:

CLARK McGINN was born and brought up in Ayr, being educated at Ayr Academy where he spoke at his first Burns Supper. He has performed at over 200 Immortal Memory speeches in 32 cities in 17 countries, travelling nearly a dozen times round the globe in the process. He was President of the Burns Club of London during the Burns 250th Celebrations in 2009, when he gave the Eulogy at the National Service of Thanksgiving for Burns at Westminster Abbey. In 2014, he was awarded a PhD by the University of Glasgow for his research into the history of the Burns Supper and has had several peer-reviewed articles published on various aspects of Burns. 

He has published several books on the Burns Supper, including The Ultimate Burns Supper Book, The Burns Supper: A Comprehensive History and The Burns Supper: A Concise History. Clark lives with his wife, Ann, in Harrow-on-the-Hill and Fowey. Their three daughters live outside London and New York.