Seamus Heaney (1939–2013)

Author of Opened Ground: Poems 1966–1996

197+ Works 13,734 Members 139 Reviews 76 Favorited

About the Author

Seamus Heaney was born in Mossbawn, Ireland on April 13, 1939. He received a degree in English from Queen's College in Belfast in 1961. After earning his teacher's certificate in English from St. Joseph's College in Belfast the following year, he took a position at the school as an English teacher. show more During his time as a teacher at St. Joseph's, he wrote and published work in the university magazine under the pen name Incertus. In 1966, he became an English literature lecturer at Queen's College in Belfast. His first volume of poems, Death of a Naturalist, went on to receive the E.C. Gregory Award, the Cholmondeley Award, the Somerset Maugham Award, and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. After the death of his parents, Heaney published the poetry volumes The Haw Lantern, which includes a sonnet sequence memorializing his mother, and Seeing Things, a collection containing numerous poems for his father. His other works included Field Work, Opened Ground: Poems 1966-1996, and Human Chain. Heaney was a professor at Harvard from 1981 to 1997 and its Poet in Residence from 1988 to 2006. From 1989 to 1994 he was also the Professor of Poetry at Oxford and in 1996 was made a Commandeur de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres. Other awards that he received include the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (1968), the E. M. Forster Award (1975), the PEN Translation Prize (1985), the Golden Wreath of Poetry (2001), T. S. Eliot Prize (2006) and two Whitbread Prizes (1996 and 1999). In 2012, he was awarded the Lifetime Recognition Award from the Griffin Trust For Excellence In Poetry. His literary papers are held by the National Library of Ireland. He died following a short illness on August 30, 2013 at the age of 74. Heaney's last words were in a text to his wife Marie, "Noli timere", which means "Do not be afraid." (Bowker Author Biography) Seamus Heaney lives in Dublin and teaches at Harvard University. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1995. (Publisher Provided) Seamus Heaney was born in 1939 in Northern Ireland. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. A resident of Dublin, he has taught poetry at Oxford University and Harvard University. (Publisher Provided) show less

Includes the names: S Heaney, Ш. Хини, Seamus Haney, Seamus Heany, Seanus Heaney, Seamus Heaney, Seamus Heaney, Shamus Heaney, Seamus Heaneyl, ed. Seamus Heaney, Seamus Heaney ed., tr. Heaney Seamus, tr. Seamus Heaney, trans. Seamus Heany, trans. Seamus Heaney, trans. Seamus Heaney, Seamus Trans. Heaney, Seamus Heaney trans., Шејмас Хини, transl. Seamus Heaney, Шеймас Хини, Seamus translator Heany, Translator: Seamus Heaney, By (author) Seamus Heaney, SEKECTED BY SEAMUS HEANEY, Seamus - Translator Heaney, Translated by Seamus Heaney, Translated by Seamus Heaney, Sheamus Heaney (translator), Translation by Seamus Heaney, ed. and trans. Seamus Heaney, Translation by Seamus Heaney, シェイマスヒーニー

Image credit: Photo by Norman McBeath, courtesy of Faber Books

Series

Bags of Poetry

Works by Seamus Heaney

Popular Recent

Opened Ground: Poems 1966–1996 (1998) 1,481 copies

Selected Poems, 1966-1987 (1990) 1,230 copies

The Rattle Bag (1982) — Editor — 918 copies

Beowulf: A Verse Translation [Norton Critical Edition] (2002) — Translator; Translator — 890 copies

Death of a Naturalist (1966) 712 copies

District and Circle (2006) 638 copies

The Spirit Level (1996) 617 copies

North (1975) 501 copies

Seeing Things (1991) 494 copies

The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles' Antigone (0442) 480 copies

Poems, 1965-1975: Death of a Naturalist / Door Into the Dark / Wintering Out / North (1980) 474 copies

Electric Light (2001) 455 copies

Station Island (1984) 426 copies

Human Chain (2010) 419 copies

Field Work (1979) 409 copies

The redress of poetry (1995) 360 copies

The Haw Lantern (1987) 306 copies

Sweeney Astray (0800) 303 copies

The Cure at Troy: A Version of Sophocles' Philoctetes (1991) 267 copies

Finders Keepers: Selected Prose, 1971-2001 (2002) 253 copies

Aeneid: Book VI [in translation] (0029) — Translator — 213 copies

The School Bag (1997) — Editor — 192 copies

Preoccupations: Selected Prose, 1968-1978 (1980) 184 copies

The Government of the Tongue: Selected Prose, 1978-1987 (1988) 164 copies

100 Poems (2018) 154 copies

Door into the Dark (1969) 146 copies

Wintering Out (1972) 145 copies

Selected Poems 1988-2013 (2014) 136 copies

Beowulf: abridged audio (2000) 77 copies

Homage to Robert Frost (1996) — Contributor — 65 copies

Crediting Poetry: The Nobel Lecture (1995) 65 copies

The Translations of Seamus Heaney (2022) 28 copies

Sweeney's Flight (1900) 26 copies

The Midnight Verdict (1993) 25 copies

The Letters of Seamus Heaney (2023) 22 copies

The Complete Translations (2023) 21 copies

På väg : dikter (1994) 19 copies

Collected Poems (1999) 18 copies

Great Poets of the 20th Century: Seamus Heaney (2008) 14 copies

Seamus Heaney (1988) 12 copies

POEMS AND A MEMOIR BY SEAMUS HEANEY. (1982) 12 copies

Lifelines: An anthology of poems chosen by famous people (1993) 12 copies

Vereffeningen gedichten (1991) 12 copies

Ojanpiennarten kuningas (1995) 11 copies

Anything can happen : a poem and essay (2004) 11 copies

Dit man hör : litterära essäer (1996) 9 copies

Stepping Stones (Audio, Faber) (1995) 8 copies

Spelling it Out Limited Edition (300) (2009) 7 copies

Stone from Delphi 7 copies

Ireland's Living Voices: Short Fiction from Ireland's Best Contemporary Writers (1985) 7 copies

Tonen som kom (1989) 7 copies

Poems (1 vol Stock no.424) (1995) 6 copies

Poèmes, 1966-1984 (1988) 6 copies

Una porta sul buio (1998) 6 copies

Poemas (Em Portuguese do Brasil) (1998) 6 copies

Beowulf A New Verse Translation Hardcover 6 copies

Obra reunida : edición bilingüe : Isla de las estaciones / Viendo visiones / La luz de las hojas / El nivel / Sonetos… (2015) 6 copies

The Place of Writing (Emory Studies in Humanities) (1989) 5 copies

100 poemas: 6 (Alba Poesía) (2019) 5 copies

'Room to rhyme' : 'Greatest Minds Lecture' delivered at the celebration of graduation at the… (2004) 5 copies

Attraversamenti (1995) 4 copies

Die Herrschaft der Sprache : Essays und Vorlesungen (1992) 4 copies

The testament of Cresseid (2004) 4 copies

Vattenpasset (2002) 4 copies

Three stanzas : Miroslaw Balka, Robert Gober, Seamus Heaney (1999) 4 copies

Seamus Heaney II Collected Poems (published 1979-1991): Field Work; Station Island; The Haw Lantern; Seeing Things (2018) 4 copies

Antologia Poética (1994) 4 copies

The Poet and the Piper (2003) 4 copies

Ukkosvaloa (1997) 4 copies

Soran ääniä : Seamus Heaneyn runoja (2007) 4 copies

Poems: "Field Work", "Station Island", "Haw Lantern", "Seeing Things" v. 2 (1995) 4 copies

Sansen for plassen og andre essays (1996) 4 copies

Poesie scelte (1996) 4 copies

de La Emocion a Las Palabras: Ensayos Literarios (Coleccion Argumentos) (Spanish Edition) (1996) 4 copies

An Open Letter (A Field Day pamphlet) (1983) 3 copies

Al buen entendedor. Ensayos escogidos (Lengua Y Estudios Literarios) (Spanish Edition) (2006) 3 copies

Seamus Heaney: Poems: 4 Vol Boxed Set 3 copies

Ireland - changes and challenges : short stories (2008) 3 copies

New and Selected Poems 3 copies

The May Anthology of Oxford & Cambridge Poetry, 1993 (1993) 3 copies

Blooming through the ashes : an international anthology on violence and the human spirit (2008) 3 copies

Poesie. Testo inglese a fronte (2016) 3 copies

Kolejowe dzieci : wiersze i prozy (1998) 3 copies

L'étrange et le connu : Edition bilingue français-anglais (2005) 3 copies

Barrie Cooke [Profile series 10] (1998) 2 copies

The Government of the Tongue: Selected Pros, 1978-1987 2 copies

Selected Poems 2 copies

Mistroostig en thuis. Gedichten (1987) 2 copies

Makings of a Music: Reflections on the Poetry of Wordsworth and Yeats (The Kenneth Allott lectures) (1978) 2 copies

A Little Book of Ledwidge: A Selection of the Poems and Letters of Francis Ledwidge (2017) — With an assessment by — 2 copies

Conlán 2 copies

La reparación de la poesía (2013) 2 copies

The Whoseday Book : a millennium journal / [editor, Marie Donnelly ; introduction by patron Seamus Heaney ; foreword by… 2 copies

Rare The Haw Lantern - by Seamus Heaney - Nobel Prize Poet - First Edition 2 copies

Something to Write Home About 2 copies

Přezimování pod širým nebem (2002) 2 copies

New Selected Poems 1988-2013 by Seamus Heaney (6-Nov-2014) Hardcover (1600) 2 copies

Die Amsel von Glanmore: Gedichte 1965 - 2006 (2011) 2 copies

Play Burial at Thebes *Theatre* (2004) 2 copies

44 wiersze (1994) 2 copies

Sonetos: Edicion Bilingue (2008) 2 copies

The Riverbank Field (2007) 2 copies

Seamus Heaney I Collected Poems (published 1966-1975): Death of a Naturalist; Door into the Dark; Wintering Out; North (2018) 2 copies

Dylan the durable? : on Dylan Thomas (1992) 2 copies

Seamus Heaney collection 2 copies

Antologia Poética 2 copies

The Cure at Troy A Version of Sophocles Philoctetes 1 copy

Burial at Thebes, The ; 1 copy

Rare Seamus Heaney OPENED GROUND SELECTED POEMS 1966-1996 First Edition 1998 -Farrar Straus and Giroux [FSG 1 copy

Calat i neguit : sobre la traducció de Beowulf = La angustia y la segueta : la traducción del Beowulf 1 copy

Stations (1975) 1 copy

Seamus Heaney: The Shaping Spirit (1996) 1 copy

Eleven Poems 1 copy

Salmagundi 1 copy

Cadena humana (2011) 1 copy

“The Early Purges” 1 copy

“Punishment” 1 copy

The School Bag 1 copy

Seamus Heaney at Harvard: Heaney reads his own and other poems (audiobook) 1 copy

Hundra dikter (2022) 1 copy

Singing School. Poems. 1966-2002 1 copy

シェイマス・ヒーニー全詩集 1966~1991 (1995) 1 copy

Школа пения. Стихотворения 1966-2002 1 copy

Чур, мое! : избранные эссе и стихотворения : [перевод с… 1 copy

Poems and a Memoir 1 copy

Поленов талог 1 copy

Seamus Heaney, a personal selection : August 20-October 24 1982 1 copy

ALFABETE 1 copy

Auguri: to Mary Kelleher (2009) 1 copy

"Are you doing any poetry with them?" (The Podium).(teaching poetry in Belfast, Northern Ireland)(Brief Article): An… 1 copy

Distrito Y Circular (2014) 1 copy

Tree Clock 1 copy

In their element : a selection of poems 1 copy

Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney 1 copy

Ploughshares 20: Spring 1980 — Guest Editor — 1 copy

Glanmore sonnets 1 copy

Interactions: A Collection (2012) 1 copy

Poems and a Memoir - Seamus Heaney 1 copy

[Le opere: La riparazione della poesia: Poesie scelte 1 copy

Zawierzyć poezji (1996) 1 copy

Seamus Heaney Collected Poems II 1 copy

La lucarne/L'étrange et le connu (2018) 1 copy

[(Beowulf)] [By (author) Seamus Heaney] published on (October, 2000) 1 copy

Beowulf: A Verse Translation: A Norton Critical Edition: 0 (Norton Critical Editions) 1 copy

Singing School/Poems 1966-2002 1 copy

Jasanová hůl 1 copy

Willam Wordsworth: Selected Poems 1 copy

Attraversamenti. Con nuovi inediti e un'intervista al poeta. Testo inglese a fronte (2005) 1 copy

Seamus Heaney, a life well written (2022) 1 copy

Articulations: Poetry, Philosophy and the Shaping of Culture (2008) 1 copy

Once on a Side: An Evening with Seamus Heaney and Robert Frost 1 copy

Soundings '72. An annual anthology of new irish poetry. (1972) 1 copy

The Door Stands Open : Czeslaw Milosz 1911-2004 1 copy

Gravities: A Collection of Poems and Drawings (1979) 1 copy

Bog Poems (1975) 1 copy

Selected Poems: 1931-2004 1 copy

The Gist: A Celebration of the Imagination (2012) 1 copy

Die Poesie würdigen (2000) 1 copy

A vision of Modern Art : In memory of Dorothy Walker (2004) 1 copy

The fire i' the flint : reflections on the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins (1975) 1 copy

La lucarne : Edition bilingue français-anglais (2005) 1 copy

Seamus Heaney writes: The poems in Door into the dark are more dramatic than those in Death of a naturalist 1 copy

Die Wasserwaage : Gedichte ; englisch und deutsch = The spirit level (1998) 1 copy

Verteidigung der Poesie: Oxforder Vorlesungen (1996) 1 copy

Seamus Heaney Collected Poems CD 1 copy

The Outlaw (included in The Norton Introduction to Literature - 5th Edition) 1 copy

'The drag of the golden chain: how the translator 'gropes along', transmitting meaningful signals 'from the hoard to… 1 copy

W.B. Yeats 1 copy

32 Poems [Printout] 1 copy

Sounding lines : the art of translating poetry : Seamus Heaney and Robert Haas in conversation (2000) 1 copy

Ireland Journal V1 4/95 1 copy

'The god in the tree: early Irish nature poetry' (The Pleasures of Gaelic Poetry, ed. Seán MacRéamoinn) 1 copy

By Seamus Heaney Death of a Naturalist (Reprint.) [Paperback] (1999) 1 copy

Harvard University Art Museums Centenary: Three books: Seeing Things by Seamus Heaney; And the Stars Were Shining by… 1 copy

Seamus Heaney III Collected Poems (published 1996-2010): The Spirit Level; Electric Light; District and Circle; Human… (2018) 1 copy

Seamus Heaney; 100 Poems 1 copy

kyvernisi tis glossas / κυβερνηση της γλωσσας (2008) 1 copy

New and Selected Poems (2014) 1 copy

Beowulf(Bilingual Edition) 1st (first) edition Text Only (2001) 1 copy

Regio en ring gedichten (2009) 1 copy

Nobel Prize acceptance speech 1 copy

Ocho poemes de Lluz Eléctrica 1 copy

Catena umana (2011) 1 copy

Seamus Heaney Box Set (2013) 1 copy

El nivel (Spanish Edition) (2008) 1 copy

Commencement address, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, May 12, 1996 1 copy

Among Schoolchildren. A lecture dedicated to the memory of John Malone given by Seamus Heaney on Thursday 9th June,… (1983) 1 copy

VIENDO VISIONES 1 copy

Laments (2015) 1 copy

Scavando: poesie scelte (1966-1990) 1 copy

Seamus Heaney: Seamus Heaney talks to Kirsty Wark, Something to write home about [Interview & Documentary, 2004] 1 copy

Fältarbete 1 copy

From the Republic of Conscience 1 copy

Il governo della lingua: prose scelte 1978-1987 (1998) 1 copy

Schools and Schooling, 1650-2000 New Perspectives on the History of Education 1 copy

'The poetry of John Hewitt' (Threshold, 1972) 1 copy

創作の場所 (2001) 1 copy

Work Explorer

Associated Works

Beowulf (1000) — Introduction, some editions; Translator, some editions; Narrator, some editions — 25,468 copies

The Making of a Poem: A Norton Anthology of Poetic Forms (2000) — Contributor — 1,267 copies

A Book of Luminous Things: An International Anthology of Poetry (1996) — Contributor — 836 copies

The Nation's Favourite Poems (1996) — Contributor, some editions — 626 copies

World Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from Antiquity to Our Time (1998) — Contributor — 450 copies

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 9th Edition, Volume A (2005) — Translator, some editions — 431 copies

A Way of Life, Like Any Other (1978) — Introduction — 310 copies

W. B. Yeats: Poems Selected by Seamus Heaney (2000) — Editor, some editions — 297 copies

The Faber Book of Modern Verse (1936) — Contributor, some editions — 289 copies

The Norton Anthology of English Literature, 4th Edition, Volume 2 (1979) — Contributor — 250 copies

The People of the Sea: A Journey in Search of the Seal Legend (1954) — Introduction, some editions — 219 copies

The Art of Losing (2010) — Contributor — 203 copies

Teaching with Fire: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Teach (2003) — Contributor — 202 copies

The Penguin Book of Irish Verse (1982) — Contributor — 197 copies

British Poetry Since 1945 (1970) — Contributor, some editions — 167 copies

After Ovid: New Metamorphoses (1994) — Contributor — 153 copies

The Word Exchange: Anglo-Saxon Poems in Translation (2010) — Foreword, some editions — 153 copies

Poetry Speaks Expanded: Hear Poets Read Their Own Work from Tennyson to Plath (2007) — Contributor — 152 copies

The Faber Book of Beasts (1997) — Contributor — 141 copies

The Poetry Pharmacy: Tried-and-True Prescriptions for the Heart, Mind, and Soul (2017) 126 copies

The Testament of Cresseid & Seven Fables (1500) — Translator — 126 copies

Granta 111: Going Back (2010) — Contributor — 113 copies

Emergency Kit (1996) — Contributor, some editions — 109 copies

Leading From Within: Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead (2007) — Contributor — 102 copies

Poems to See By: A Comic Artist Interprets Great Poetry (2020) — Contributor — 94 copies

The Poet's Work: 29 Poets on the Origins and Practice of Their Art (1979) — Contributor — 89 copies

Laments (1981) — Translator, some editions — 82 copies

William Wordsworth: Poems Selected by Seamus Heaney (Poet to Poet: An Essential Choice of Classic Verse) (1988) — Editor — 76 copies

The Everyman Anthology of Poetry for Children (1994) — Contributor — 72 copies

Nobel Lectures: From the Literature Laureates, 1986 to 2006 (2006) — Contributor — 72 copies

Gods and Mortals: Modern Poems on Classical Myths (1684) — Contributor — 69 copies

The Hungry Ear: Poems of Food and Drink (2012) — Contributor — 63 copies

Birds in the Hand: Fiction and Poetry about Birds (2004) — Contributor — 33 copies

Antaeus No. 75/76, Autumn 1994 - The Final Issue (1994) — Contributor — 32 copies

Poets from the North of Ireland (1979) — Contributor — 29 copies

The Canon: The Original One Hundred and Fifty-Four Poems (2004) — Foreword — 27 copies

One World of Literature (1992) — Contributor — 24 copies

The Finest Music: Early Irish Lyrics (2014) — Contributor — 19 copies

AQA Anthology (2002) — Author, some editions — 19 copies

James Joyce: A Collection of Critical Essays (1992) — Contributor — 19 copies

Masters of British Literature, Volume B (2007) — Contributor — 17 copies

Modern Poets: Four (1968) — Author — 17 copies

William Golding: The Man and His Books - A Tribute on His 75th Birthday (1986) — Contributor — 16 copies

Nobel Lectures: 20 Years of the Nobel Prize for Literature Lectures (2007) — Contributor — 14 copies

Oxford Readings in Vergil's Eclogues (2008) — Contributor — 9 copies

Living Classics: Greece and Rome in Contemporary Poetry in English (Classical Presences) (2009) — Contributor — 7 copies

Amid Our Troubles: Irish Versions of Greek Tragedy (Plays and Playwrights) (2002) — Contributor — 4 copies

The Art of translation : voices from the field (1989) — Contributor — 4 copies

Antaeus: Fiction, Poetry, Documents - Jubilee Edition (1991) — Contributor — 3 copies

The New Salmagundi Reader (1996) — Contributor — 3 copies

Archipelago: Number Two - Spring 2008 (2008) — Contributor — 2 copies

Treelines: A collection of poems (2018) 2 copies

Irish University Review: Richard Murphy special issue (Spring 1977, Vol. 7 No.1), a journal of Irish studies (1977) — Contributor — 2 copies

Archipelago, Number One, Summer 2007 (2007) — Contributor — 2 copies

Beowulf — Translator, some editions — 1 copy

Tagged

(764) 20th century (233) Anglo-Saxon (649) anthology (691) Beowulf (516) British (190) British literature (261) classic (711) classic literature (145) classics (1,000) dragons (166) English (209) English literature (391) epic (799) epic poetry (472) essays (164) fantasy (287) fiction (1,491) folklore (189) Heaney (134) history (243) Ireland (421) Irish (496) Irish literature (293) Irish poetry (296) literature (1,309) medieval (655) medieval literature (299) Middle Ages (180) monsters (173) myth (133) non-fiction (211) Old English (901) own (152) poetry (8,942) read (409) Seamus Heaney (211) to-read (1,078) translation (494) unread (170)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name: Heaney, Seamus
Legal name: Heaney, Seamus Justin
Birthdate: 1939-04-13
Date of death: 2013-08-30
Gender: male
Nationality: Northern Ireland, UK
Birthplace: Castledawson, Northern Ireland, UK
Place of death: Dublin, Ireland
Places of residence: Northern Ireland, UK
Dublin, Ireland
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Education: Queen's University Belfast (BA|1961)
Occupations: poet
professor
Relationships: Heaney, Marie (spouse)
Organizations: Queen's University Belfast
Harvard University
Oxford University
Awards and honors: Nobel Prize (Literature, 1995)
Royal Society of Literature Companion of Literature (1991)
Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement (2004)
Lannan Literary Award (1990)
E. M. Forster Award (1975)
David Cohen British Literature Prize (2009) (show all 16)
American Academy of Arts and Letters (Foreign Honorary ∙ Literature ∙ 1993)
Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1996)
Saoi of the Aosdána (1998)
Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize (1968)
PEN Translation Prize (1985)
Golden Wreath of Poetry (2001)
T. S. Eliot Prize (2006)
Whitbread Prize (1996 | 1999)
Griffin Poetry Prize (2011)
Royal Irish Academy (1997)
Agent: Steven Barclay Agency
Short biography: Born in Londonderry in 1939, Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney is among the best in Northern Irish literature. Heaney is considered one of the greatest poets of the late twentieth century, with a spectrum of awards received in his lifetime, including the T. S. Eliot Prize and the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. His most famous volume, Death of a Naturalist (1966) explored his childhood in Northern Ireland, from Roman Catholic influences, political life, and the death of his younger brother at age four, in ‘Mid-term Break’ (1966). As a Professor of Poetry at Harvard and Oxford University, he became a Professor at his own institution, Queen’s University, Belfast, which opened the Seamus Heaney centre for poetry in 2003.

Members

Discussions

Seamus Heaney in Poetry Fool (January 2017)

TIOLI September 2013: Seamus Heaney Memorial Challenge in 75 Books Challenge for 2013 (September 2013)

Reviews

Opened Ground by Seamus Heaney

I read Heaney for the first time more than 12 years ago now (thanks Mr. Masterman!) Death of a Naturalist was probably the second poem I can really remember thinking hard about. I wouldn't say I'm a poetry guy, but Heaney's command of sound and imagery gets me. Take Blackberry Picking, or The Gravel Walks; he can pull out feeling from the simplest of scenes. I'll add some thoughts here as I am reminded of particular pieces.

Digging
Mid-Term Break
Requiem for the Croppies
A Call… (more)

Flagged

Zedseayou | 8 other reviews | Jan 30, 2024 |

100 Poems by Seamus Heaney

It almost seems irrelevant to write a review of this book. I mean, Seamus Heaney can’t get any better known or loved by me saying *I love this book*.

But I do. Just as I am stirred by his words, his perceptions, his way of capturing a thought or juxtaposing two things I would never think to put together (and no, I'm not carried off by every single one of these 100 poems, but by many, *many*, I am), I am also grateful to him. For his honesty, his vulnerability, his tenderness for selves and technologies and humans and leafy spaces that no longer are or are not yet, as in a poem to his toddler grandchild in later years. He has room for all of these in him, and I recognise my own complexity reflected in his, and am grateful for this gentle companion in life.… (more)

Flagged

thesmellofbooks | 1 other review | Dec 21, 2023 |

The Letters of Seamus Heaney by Seamus Heaney

I am going to miss sitting on Seamus Heaney's shoulder. For some reason I never did hear him live, though I saw many fine poets read in the 1980s/90s.

Heaney's family agreed to support and facilitate this project where necessary under the strict understanding no letters to family or close, non-public, friends appeared. The majority of the correspondents are poets, translators, editors and others in the publishing world. The thing that becomes most quickly apparent is that Seamus had a great gift for friendship, even if there isn't a letter in the volume that doesn't begin with an apology for the lateness in his reply to their letters.

The second thing is the great richness in attention he pays to the work sent to him by his friends, and that received by him (not included) by them, his gratitude is deep and buoyant.

Reading a lifetime's creative arc is fascinating, informative, invigorating. In Heaney's case though the success ultimately crowded out the silent time for writing poetry. It wasn't until late in his life that he learned to say no to the invitations to teach and speak around the world, and then it was his health that made it near impossible for him to write, as physical problems led to bouts of deep depression. Despite this though, his body of work is substantial.

Breaking the rigid agreement the last entry is a text to his wife Marie, as he was being wheeled into surgery 'Noli Timere' (do not be afraid). He died before reaching the operating theatre.… (more)

Flagged

Caroline_McElwee | Nov 30, 2023 |