Publication Announcement: ‘O’er a’ my labours sey your skill’: Poetic Responses to Robert Fergusson

We are thrilled to announce the publication in September 2025 of the new original poetry collection ‘O’er a’ my labours sey your skill’: Poetic Responses to Robert Fergusson. 

Illustration by Andrew Redmond Barr

Dubbed his ‘elder brother in the muse’ by Robert Burns, the influence of Robert Fergusson upon eighteenth-century Scots poets cannot be overstated. A chronicler of Edinburgh and populariser of the ‘standard habbie’, he opened the door for generations of poets documenting urban life as it evolved throughout the Enlightenment and beyond. And yet, his popular legacy pales in comparison to his Ayrshire-born namesake.

In this collection, across Scots, English and Gaelic, a wealth of contemporary poets respond to his work. From tributes to biographies to departures, Scotland’s most celebrated writers and emerging poets alike evoke the enduring impact of Fergusson upon their work, proving that, two hundred and fifty years after his death, his song immortal lives. 

‘O’er a’ my labours sey your skill’: Poetic Responses to Robert Fergusson forms part of ‘The Collected Works of Robert Fergussson: Reconstructing Textual and Cultural Legacies’ research project, funded by The Leverhulme Trust (October 2023 – October 2025).

Fergusson’s death, at the age of just twenty-four in an Edinburgh asylum was tragic, but his legacy is anything but. Via events and publications, the project gives Fergusson’s literary, textual, biographical, linguistic, medical and cultural legacies the timely recognition they deserve.

O’er a’ my labours sey your skill’: Poetic Responses to Robert Fergusson is published by independent Edinburgh publisher Taproot Press and is available to purchase on their website.

Events:

For more information on Project Fergusson, please see the project website and social media pages on X and BlueSky.