Robert Burns was truly a poet and yet this is not where he earned his living. Similar to those artists around him he had to have a way of earning some money. For Burns, the money came from being a farmer, this is why he is called the "Ploughman Bard." While he was ploughing one of his fields he disturbed a mouse's nest and this is where his poem "To A Mouse" comes from.(1)

Burns was the son of a hard-working, intelligent father.His father was William burns and his mother was agnes browh He was the oldest of seven children. Robert was born on january 25, 1759.(3)His father made sure he got a good education even though they were hard pressed for money. He went fo John Murdochs school in alloway Afterward he went to the school of hugh roger at kirkoswald.(3) As a boy, Burns read the Scotish poetry of Ramsey and also the works of Pope, Locke, and Shakespeare. He attempted many agricultural jobs without much success and during that time he wrote poetry. In 1788, he married Jean Armour and they had four children. He died in 1796 at the age of 37 from rheumatic fever. (2)

The Following is a list of Robert Burns' poetry:

Ae Fond Kiss

Auld Lang Syne

Bannockburn

Jean

John Anderson, My Jo

Mary Morison

My Bonnie Mary

O, My Luve's Like a Red, Red Rose

To a Mountain Daisy

To a Mouse (4) robert burn was such an important literary figure that he has had since 1959 a book about his poetry called the burns encyclopedia. i prpvides information about him his works and scottland during that period. (5) William curran is famous for changing burns poetry from theyre origiunal text to modern english (6)

Robert Burns did not gain his fame from just his poetry but because of his use of satire and relationship with the lower class. His poetry saved Scottish folk tale and the style of writing that went along with it. He used humorous stories of town folk and sympothy towards small creatures to gain the respect he holds after his death. (7)

His poetry falls into two main groups--his English poetry and his Scottish poetry. His English poetry is inferior compared to his Scottish and it is his Scottish poetry that has made him famous.(8)

Robert Burns for real (9)

Portrait of Robert Burns (10)

THe university of south caroline marked the bicenenial anniversity of burns death in 1996 . The college had a exibit that featured burn and his work. It lasted from march to may of that year. (11)

Sources
(1) http://www.worldburnsclub.com/poems/translations/554.htm
(2)http://www.bartleby.com/65/bu/Burns-Ro.html
(3)http://www.robertburns.plus.com/Robert%20Burns.htm
(4)http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/burns_robert.html

(5)http://www.robertburns.org/encyclopedia/index.shtml

(6)http://www.robertburns.org/inenglish/

(7)http://www.heartoscotland.com/Categories/RobertBurns.htm (8)http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/rburns.html
(9)http://redcross.tallytown.com/graphics/BOD-RobertBurns.gif
(10)http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/images1/burns_rob.jpg
(11)http://www.sc.edu/library/spcoll/britlit/burns/burns.html