Following his death 250 years ago, Fergusson was laid to rest in the Canongate Kirkyard on 19th October 1774. Tributes to the poet flooded into the Weekly Magazine, who announced the poet’s death by publishing his obituary in their issue of 20th October. Ruddiman, the magazine’s proprietor, praises Fergusson in this obituary by stating that he was ‘a genius so lively’, whose ‘talent for versification in the Scots dialect has been exceeded by none’.

Another famous poet, Robert Burns (1759 – 1796) was hugely inspired by Fergusson. In a letter to his friend John Moore in August 1787, he notes:

‘Rhyme except some religious pieces, which are in print I had given up but meeting with Fergusson’s Scotch poems, I strung anew my wildly-sounding rustic lyre with emulating vigour’.

Whilst suffering from a loss of inspiration, Burns felt encouraged to continue to write poetry after reading Fergusson’s Scots verses.

When Burns visited Edinburgh for the first time in 1787, he made a pilgrimage to Fergusson’s grave to pay his respects. When he arrived, he found the grave unmarked, a sign of the Fergusson family’s poverty at the time of his death.

This image shows a modern iteration of Robert Fergusson, wearing a leather jacket and skinny jeans, as played by actor Kieran McKenzie in Crown of Straw. On stage throughout the whole production, McKenzie’s Fergusson was playful, lively, inspired, and tortured in turn. Urbancroft Films have here captured the moment after Fergusson’s coronation with his crown of straw.

The synopsis of the play was as follows:

Edinburgh, 1774. Alone in a filthy Bedlam cell, a young man pulls straw from his mattress and weaves himself a crown. His raucous life of wit, poetry and song has ended in a vicious shove down a stone staircase. Wracked with pain and haunted by delusions, he wonders if anyone will remember him.

Crown of Straw tells the extraordinary true story of Robert Fergusson, the trailblazing writer who inspired Robert Burns. Exploring his pioneering work, lively songs and tragic death, this rehearsed reading celebrated the life of one of Scotland’s most important, and forgotten, poets.

Braw Clan’s Crown of Straw was a community rehearsed reading seen by nearly 200 people. Tickets were free, with performances in Biggar Corn Exchange, Crawford Village Hall, and Leadhills Village Hall. The cast included three professional actors, student actors from New College Lanarkshire, members of Corn Exchange Young Performers and community actors from Biggar Theatre Workshop. Crown of Straw was part of Unlocking Scots, Braw Clan's development programme funded by the National Lottery, and it was created with support from the Scottish Society of Playwrights’ SSP@50 Fellowship Awards.

In order to mark two hundred and fifty years since the death of Robert Fergusson, Project Fergusson launched an open call in collaboration with Edinburgh publisher Taproot Press. This collection is the result, as across Scots, English and Gaelic, a wealth of contemporary poets respond to Fergusson’s life and 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.

A series of events launched ‘Oer a’ my labours sey your skill’: Poetic Responses to Robert Fergusson in September and October 2025, and more information about the volume can be found here.