Rab Wilson
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Rab Wilson (born 1 September 1960, in New Cumnock, Ayrshire) is a Scottish poet who writes mainly in the Scots language. His works include a Scots translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, and the poetry books Accent o the Mind, Life Sentence, and A Map for the Blind.[1]
He held an engineering apprenticeship with the National Coal Board, working at Barony Pit in Ayrshire, but gave up mining as a result of the UK miners' strike (1984–1985) and instead trained as a psychiatric nurse.[2][3]
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 whistleblowers.[4][5][6]
In 2012 he spoke to lawyers at the 4th European Collaborative Conference.[7]
He is closely connected with Scottish national poet Robert Burns, who was also from Ayrshire. Wilson worked on the project Burnsiana with Calum Colvin[8] and discovered that Burns may have taken part of Tam O' Shanter from English poet Edmund Bolton.[9]
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.[10][11]
He won the 2008 McCash Scots poetry competition.[3]
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.[3]
