SOURCE: An introduction to Poems by Allan Ramsay and Robert Fergusson, edited by A. M. Kinghorn and A. Law, Rowman & Littlefield, 1974, pp. vii-xxxiv.

An English critic, Kinghorn is widely considered an authority on Scottish poetry. In the following excerpt, he and Law, a Scottish writer who co-edited with Kinghorn The Works of Allan Ramsay (1961-74), discuss Fergusson's innovative use of language and poetic form, praising "his ability to associate language and locale in unexpected ways."

Fergusson did not live long enough to attract attention outside his immediate circle, which was unlucky, since it is unlikely that he would have long remained without wider recognition at a time when all but the most conventional Scottish tastes were veering towards the home-bred, and when there was a dearth of significant poets. His premature departure from the scene left the role of upholder of the native tradition to Burns, whose Kilmarnock...