Burn's love poems are full of sentiment but not sentimental, in the current usage of the word. John Anderson My Jo is one of my favourite ever love poems. Perhaps Paxman got his Scottish poets mixed up, hinkie pinkie, and confused Burns with McGonagall. Or then again maybe Paxman was using the word sentimental to mean a poet who mixes feelings with thoughts. But there's no elevating doggerel – unless you are McGonagall. Anyway, whatever anybody thinks of To a Haggis or To a Louse or To A Mouse or Tam O'Shanter, Burns's poetry has survived because it's memorable, quotable, it touches people.
I don't think Jackie Kay's right that Jeremy Paxman got mixed up. I think he's got Burns bang to rights. It's not that he's rubbish; he's certainly not that, and some of his stuff is memorable and touching, as she says. He's just not in the major league of poetry, not by a long way. The North of England's bard, Wordsworth, is about twenty times better.
It's good to see poetry stirring up a bit of passion, though.
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