Today is Poetry Day in Ireland and to celebrate, we have delved into the archives to find this recording of Seamus Heaney talking about his first tentative steps into a writing life.
Read moreSeamus Heaney's Ellmann Lectures, 30 Years On
Seamus Heaney and Ronald Schuchard (front), with Keith Schuchard and Marie Heaney at the barbecue pit.
Exactly thirty years ago, in April 1988, Seamus Heaney delivered the inaugural Richard Ellmann Lectures at Emory University in Atlanta. Here, Professor Ronald Schuchard – Heaney's close friend and the founder of the lecture series – remembers a joyous occasion and an ongoing legacy.
Read more100 Poems
On June 28th, Faber and Faber will publish 100 Poems, a new selection of Seamus Heaney’s most celebrated works.
Read moreIn Search of Sweeney's Song
Photograph by Molly Martin.
Composer and musician Neil Martin – a long-time friend of Seamus Heaney – has taken the poet’s translation of Sweeney Astray and set it to music for a special St Patrick’s Day concert in Dublin. Here he writes about the challenges and joys of finding the music in the centuries-old story of the mad bird king…
Read moreThe Heaney Poetry Library at Poetry Ireland
Back in April of last year, at the unveiling of an Aubusson tapestry based on Seamus Heaney’s poems ‘Lightenings viii’, we announced the donation of Seamus Heaney’s poetry books to Poetry Ireland.
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