SEAMUS HEANEY

BASIC INFORMATION

Seamus Heaney was born in Northern Ireland in 1939, he was one of nine children.

He first began publishing poetry in 1962 when he was living and working as a teacher, in Belfast, where he had studied literature at university.

Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995, recognising that he had produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction“ (Alfred Nobel).

Heaney died in 2013.

FAMILY LIFE

Heaney’s parents came from very different social backgrounds (rural and industrial) he considered this to be a tension throughout his life.

He grew up on a small farm which dealt primarily in cattle.

When he was 12 years old he won a scholarship to St Columb College in Derry.

While he was studying here, his younger brother Christopher died (age 4), in a road accident. Heaney wrote about this in his poems.

LITERARY CAREER

Throughout his career as a poet, Heaney also worked as a lecturer in universities in Ireland, England and the United States.

He published numerous volumes of poetry during his career which stretched from the early 1960s, to his death in 2013.

Heaney also won a number of literary awards and honours, including the Nobel Prize, The Griffin Poetry Prize Life Time Recognition Award and was elected as a Saoi of Aosdana (the Irish Association of Artists)

IMPORTANT WORKS

Death of a Naturalist- 1966

Field Work- 1979 The Spirit Level-

1996 District and Circle-

2006 Human Chain- 2010

FOCUS OF HIS WORKS

His work often deals with the local surroundings of Ireland, particularly in Northern Ireland, where he was born.

Allusions to sectarian difference, widespread in Northern Ireland through his lifetime, can be found in his poems.

He was concerned, as a poet and a translator, with the English language itself as it is spoken in Ireland but also as spoken elsewhere and in other times

He is known for engaging with poetry as a necessary engine for cultural and personal change.

READ THE ARTICLE ABOUT HEANEY AT THE START OF YOUR BOOKLET AND ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS…

How does the author describe Heaney’s personality?

How does Heaney’s poetry contrast with poetic trends? How was this appealing to some readers?

What subjects did Heaney explore in his poetry? According to the author, what makes Heaney a

great poet? How does Heaney’s poetry respond to the

political unrest in Ireland according to the author of this article?

VOCABULARY

Find and record the meanings of the following words. Nostalgia Anarchic Archaic Dissonance Bigotry Reconcile Redolent