6. Writing Scotland in the Plural - with Robert Crawford

This episode’s guest is Robert Crawford, Emeritus Professor at the University of St Andrews and a distinguished poet.We discuss his work, which since the 1980s has played an important role in reshaping our understanding of Scottish literature in more multilingual and multicultural terms. We also speak about his engagement with Robert Burns and T. S. Eliot, as well as his interests in fields as varied as philosophy, computing, and the Japanese haiku. The result is a wide-ranging conversation on literature, influence, and the many directions Scottish writing and scholaship can take.02.20 - Robert's origin story as a scholar of Scottish and English Literatures09.30 - Crawford vs TS Eliot on Scotland's literary tradition15.00 - Scottish literature, multilingualism and pluralism27.30 - Robert's most influential essay: 'Devolving English Literature' (1992)42.00 - Robert's work as an anthologist of Scottish verse and prose 50.45 - Robert answers some of his critics1.01.00 - Robert's biographies of Robert Burns and TS Eliot1.20.00 - Robert's forthcoming book on the Japanese haiku