On Seamus Heaney

by R.F. Foster

"Seamus Heaney was the leading Irish poet of the second half of the twentieth century, and, after W. B. Yeats, arguably the most significant poet in the history of Irish literature. When he died in 2013 the public reaction in Ireland was extraordinary, and the outpouring of feeling decisively demonstrated that he occupied an exceptional place in national life. The words of his last message to his wife, 'Noli timere', 'Don't be afraid', appeared over and over again on social media, while key phrases from favourite poems became and have remained canonical. In this short book, conceived for the Writers on Writers series, historian Roy Foster offers an extended and largley chronological reflection upon Heaney's life, work and historical context, from the poet's origins in Northern Ireland and the publication of Death of a Naturalist in 1966, through the explosive impact of his 1975 collection North, and then into his years as a 'world poet' and an Irish writer with a powerful influence on English literature generally. Foster considers virtually all of Heaney's major output, including later volumes such as The Spirit Level and Human Chain, as well as Heaney's translation of Beowulf and his renderings from Virgil. Throughout the book, Foster conveys something of Heaney's charismatic, expansive and subtle personality, as well as the impact of his work in both the USA and in Europe. Certain themes emerge throughout, such as the way Heaney maintained a deceptive simplicity throughout his writing career, his relations with classical literature and the poetry of dissidence in Eastern Europe, and the increasing presence of the unseen and even spiritual in his later work. Foster also highlights Heaney's importance as a critic and the largely unacknowledged ways in which his own trajectory echoed that of the life and work of Yeats. Though Heaney evaded direct comparisons with his Nobel-prizewinning predecessor, he personified the quality which he attributed to Yeats: 'the gift of establishing authority within a culture'. Both poets made a challenging and oblique use of autobiography and personal history in their work, and both sustained a very particular and sometimes contested relation to the life of their country. Foster shows us that Heaney, like Yeats, came to personify and express the Ireland of his time with unique force and resonance"--

Genres: Nonfiction, Poetry, Biography, Ireland, Criticism

239 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 25, 2020

About the author

Robert Fitzroy Foster, PhD, FBA, FRHistS, FRSL

Reviews

[T P Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little critical overview of Seamus Heaney's work. It's a warm, appreciative overview of his work. It's not at the level of 'Stepping Stones' but it's not really aiming to be. It's just a short critical study that will send most readers back to the source!

[Noteeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb study.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

very much did justice to my favourite poet <3

[Ian Wall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal account of Seamus Heaney's life and works. Wonderful!!

[Jeanne Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Binged it in 4 glorious hours of ignoring all else I “had to” do. It’s short but it’s very certainly one I will re read. Sharp, closely observed and full of insights.

[Michael Reilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Foster is a good fit to write a book about Seamus Heaney. He is a distinguished professor of modern Irish history. His many books include a well-received biography of Yeats.

This is not primarily a book of literary criticism. It is an attempt to explore the connections between Heaney and the world he lived in. He grew up in the rural country, in Northern Ireland, as a Catholic, during the worst of the troubles from 1969 on. All of those things were major influences. The love of rural words, images and metaphors are a central part of his skill. The Northern Ireland literary scene formed him. He could never escape being seen as a Catholic no matter how far he traveled from it. The violence, politics, and contradictions of the Irish struggles haunted his poetry.

Foster is brilliant at showing Heaney, at the same time, struggling to not be simply defined as an Irish Catholic poet from Northern Ireland. Foster outlines the tightrope Heaney walked to avoid simply being a spokesperson or a prophet. He always insisted that he was a poet first. He moved to the South to get out of the overwhelming war zone atmosphere. He had frequent teaching and lecturing stints abroad, particularly in America. His poetry was about much more than his religious or national identity.

Heaney eventually transcended Ireland, culminating in the Nobel Prize for Literature. Foster, who knows the scene well, outlines the jealousy and resentment of Irishmen who begrudged his success, as we tend to do. He was accused of compromising, selling out, or forgetting where he came from. Foster gives the sense that the accusations bothered Heaney but that he was strong enough to go on his own path.

Foster does have some interesting commentary on the poems and there is a healthy selection of excerpts throughout the book. This is a first-rate introduction to the best Irish poet since Yeats.

[Differengenera · Rating 2 out of 5]

bit of a blank space. long block quotes, titbits which appeared in Stepping Stones, large helpings of Foster's score-settling when it comes to Field Day, Terry Eagleton, and whether or not an inveterately bigoted variant of Ulster Protestantism is what he regards as a fair hearing.

wild to see how recently literary culture could be so acrimonious, and that if you were seen to hedge your bets - as Heaney made an art of doing - colleagues and mentees would be writing multiple essays trying to cut you down. just as a consequence of the way writing that is very Certain does not age well, and his is very good, Heaney comes out of these disputes (which he more or less completely evaded) looking great.

[Fiona O'Reilly · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars - I enjoyed the descriptions of Heaney’s life but found the analysis of his poetry a little too academic at times.
Also I read the Princeton paperback edition which is a small book with generous margins but smallish font. Not very pleasing to my eye.

[Blair Nangle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The cool thing about the biography of a poet is that the art can be included within the wider context with no loss of fidelity.

This was a bit too literary for my taste (big words).

What a guy.

Noli timere.

[Peter McLaughlin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney instead.

[Timothy Hoiland · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The frisson of reading North in 1975 was unforgettable: a chill, and a recognition. The inheritance of Northern horrors had been approached by other poets, notably John Montague and Thomas Kinsella, in their different ways; but Heaney’s excavation of what he once referred to as ‘the tribal dirt’ was overwhelming. Readers thought, ‘So it can be written about, and this is how’.”

[T H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written appreciation of the poetry of Seamus Heaney

[Carlo Tedesco · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

[John Paul Gairhan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Noli timere—‘don’t be afraid’.

[Adam F · Rating 3 out of 5]

An in-depth view of the man's life. I just wish I wasn't looking up the meaning of a word every other page, but that is probably my own faultm

[Justin Wiggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book by Irish historian R.F. Foster is a great work about how and why Seamus Heaney became such an iconic Irish poet beloved by so many people around the world. It was a joy to read.