As one literary anniversary closes, another begins. In an online event sponsored by the National Library of Scotland, award-winning writer James Robertson and cultural critic Valentina Bold are discussing James Hogg, ‘The Ettrick Shepherd’ (1770 – 1835), and Walter Scott, ‘The Great Unknown’ and ‘The Shirra’ (1771 - 1832). Original, innovative and skilled, they were almost exact contemporaries: Borderers at heart, but from very different backgrounds. This event explores the lives and works of these Scottish writers of international significance, and celebrates their distinctive legacies in poetry and prose, from The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner to the Waverley novels.
This free event is taking place on Thursday 11 February 2021 from 1700 to 1800 (UK time). Further details about registering for it can be found at https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-shepherd-and-the-shirra-james-hogg-and-walter-scott-at-250-tickets-136304359007
--Robin MacLachlan
For those who missed the event, it can now be viewed on YouTube (hosted by the National Library of Scotland).
