Rab Wilson (born 1 September 1960, in
New Cumnock
New Cumnock is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It expanded during the coal-mining era from the late 18th century, and mining remained its key industry until its pits were shut in the 1960s. The village is southeast of Cumnock, and east of ...
,
Ayrshire
Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...
) is a
Scottish poet who writes mainly in the
Scots language. His works include a Scots translation of the
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald (poet), Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian language, Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dub ...
, and the poetry books ''Accent o the Mind'', ''Life Sentence'', and ''A Map for the Blind''.
Life
He held an engineering apprenticeship with the
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board (NCB) was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the United Kingdom's collieries on "ve ...
, working at Barony Pit in Ayrshire, but gave up mining as a result of the
UK miners' strike (1984–1985) UK miners' strike may refer to:
*1893 United Kingdom miners' strike
*South Wales miners' strike (1910)
*1912 United Kingdom national coal strike
*UK miners' strike (1921)
*UK miners' strike (1953)
*1969 United Kingdom miners' strike, a widespread u ...
and instead trained as a
psychiatric nurse
Psychiatric nursing or mental health nursing is the appointed position of a nurse that specialises in mental health, and cares for people of all ages experiencing mental illnesses or distress. These include: neurodevelopmental disorders, schizophr ...
.
[
As well as poetry, he has also campaigned on health issues, for the rights of health workers to speak openly about their concerns and act as ]whistleblower
Whistleblowing (also whistle-blowing or whistle blowing) is the activity of a person, often an employee, revealing information about activity within a private or public organization that is deemed illegal, immoral, illicit, unsafe, unethical or ...
s.
In 2012 he spoke to lawyers at the 4th European Collaborative Conference.
He is closely connected with Scottish national poet Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
, who was also from Ayrshire. Wilson worked on the project ''Burnsiana'' with Calum Colvin[ and discovered that Burns may have taken part of '' Tam O' Shanter'' from English poet ]Edmund Bolton
:''This is an article about the 17th-century poet. For the reality TV participant, see Beauty and the Geek (UK TV series)''
Edmund Mary Bolton () was an English historian and poet who was born, by his own account, in 1575.
Life
Nothing is known ...
.
In 2013 he was selected as the first James Hogg Creative Resident, living and writing in Ettrick Valley, home of the poet and writer James Hogg
James Hogg (1770 – 21 November 1835) was a Scottish poet, novelist and essayist who wrote in both Scots language, Scots and English. As a young man he worked as a shepherd and farmhand, and was largely self-educated through reading. He was a ...
.
He won the 2008 McCash Scots poetry competition.[
In 2009 he jokingly threatened to behead Conservative politician Kenneth Baker while giving the address to the haggis at the Wordsworth Trust Book Festival Burns Night.]
Works
''The Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam''
His free translation of ''The Ruba'iyat of Omar Khayyam'' was published in 2010.
''The Jolly Beggars''
Wilson adapted Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...
' ''The Jolly Beggars'' for the stage. It was a runner-up for the 2007 McLellan Award for Play Writing.
''Ye're There Horace!''
''Ye're There Horace!'' was an art book
Artists' books (or book arts or book objects) are works of art that engage with and transform the form of a book. Some are mass-produced with multiple editions, some are published in small editions, while others are produced as one-of-a-kind ob ...
based on the Roman satirist Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...
, made in conjunction with artist Hugh Bryden.[
]
''Burnsiana''
''Burnsiana'' is a collaboration with artist Calum Colvin, producing an art exhibition and book featuring poems written by Wilson in response to the work of Robert Burns. Colvin produced artworks by painting Burns-related images onto rooms full of objects.
Other poetry
His other works include the 15-sonnet sequence ''1957 Flying Scot'', a tribute to a Scottish bicycle manufacturer's marque, Flying Scot. The sequence has been performed as far afield as Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
.
References
External links
Article by Wilson about his health service whistleblowing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, Rab
Scottish poets
1960 births
People from New Cumnock
Living people
Scottish nurses