Hogg, Patrick Scott 1961(?)-

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HOGG, Patrick Scott 1961(?)-

PERSONAL: Born c. 1961, in Galloway, Scotland; son of Robert (a gamekeeper and fisherman) and Jeanette (Johnstone) Hogg; married; wife's name Helen; children: Laken Jeanette, Roberta Burns, Scott Andrew. Education: University of Stirling, B.A. (history); University of Portsmouth, postgraduate degree (computer science). Hobbies and other interests: Playing the guitar, songwriting, heavy athletics.

ADDRESSES: Agent—c/o Canongate Books, 14 High St., Edinburgh EH1 1TE, Scotland.

CAREER: Scholar, poet, and songwriter.

WRITINGS:

(Editor) Robert Burns: The Lost Poems, Clydeside Press (Glasgow, Scotland), 1997.

(Editor with Andrew Noble) The Canongate Burns: The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Canongate (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2001.

SIDELIGHTS: Patrick Scott Hogg, a scholar of Scots poet Robert Burns, comes from an old Scottish family. Hogg's father, a gamekeeper and fisherman, traces his lineage back to the 1780s, near Yarrow, while Hogg's mother, Jeanette (Johnstone) Hogg, haisl from an equally old family in Galloway. Hogg takes great pride in his Scots heritage, encompassing both the highlands and the lowlands. In addition to his research on Burns, Hogg is a published poet and songwriter, and plays the guitar. As a recognized force in the world of Burns scholarship, he lent his expertise to The Ploughboy of the Western World, a 1996 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) television production on the life and work of eighteenth-century poet Burns.

Hogg initiated his career as a Burns scholar with the publication of Robert Burns: The Lost Poems, comprising twenty-five previously unknown works. Having discovered a letter from the poet promising to send some poetry and prose to the London Morning Chronicle, a radical newspaper of Burns's day, Hogg decided to locate Burns' contributions. As noted in the BBC News online, a discovery of such magnitude gave rise to great controversy. Some scholars have doubted the authenticity of the find, while others have expressed equal certainty that at least some of the newly identified works rightfully belong in the Burns canon.

The Canongate Burns: The Complete Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, coedited by Hogg and educator Andrew Noble, is a compendium of Burns's works that includes poems from Hogg's earlier volume. The volume was praised by Nicholas Lezard in the London Guardian for its inclusion of a glossary in the margins and the concise essays that accompany the most famous poems. These essays give, not only critical commentary, but also place the poems in historical context and provide details regarding their composition. A significant amount of the poet's correspondence is included, giving readers a sense of the poet's personality. Apart from his reputation as Scotland's national poet, Burns was also an accomplished writer of songs. He composed original lyrics as well as adapting traditional Scottish folk songs. His lyrics centered on his egalitarian political views and his love of Scotland. A certain amount of controversy also accompanied the publication of The Cannongate Burns, yet it found favor with many commentators, including Lezard, who concluded, "Congratulations, then, to the Edinburgh-based Canongate. … [This] edition does them great credit."