Seamus Heaney
1939-
Other Works
Death of a Naturalist
Field Work
North
Selected Poems, 1965-1975
Childhood Seamus Heaney's life, like his poetry, has been influenced by both the past and the present. Heaney loves the ancient Ireland of myth and legend, but he is also part of the modern Ireland of cities and factories. Born in County Derry, Northern Ireland, he is the oldest of nine children. His father came from a family of farmers and cattle dealers; his mother's family had long worked at a local linen mill. His parents owned a small farm called Mossbawn, and his memories of working on the peaceful farm appear in many of his poems.
Poetry When Heaney was 12, he won a scholarship to St. Columb's College, a boarding school some 40 miles from Mossbawn. This was his first move away from home, and it would be significant for him. At Saint Columb's he studied Latin and Irish, languages that opened new horizons for him and would later become important in his poetry. He went on to attend Queen's University in Belfast. There he met Marie Devlin, his future wife. Though Belfast was torn by the violence of civil conflict, it was during this time that Heaney began publishing poems expressing his love for his wife and memories of his boyhood.
Travels As Heaney's fame as a poet grew, he had opportunities to travel and lecture throughout the world. In the United States, for example, he has taught at the University of California, Berkeley, and currently teaches at Harvard University. But as Heaney traveled through the modern world in fact, he began to travel through ancient worlds in his writing. His response to the growing violence in his native Northern Ireland was to encourage creativity and study. He began to translate ancient Irish myths. He also made translations of ancient Greek tragedies, which were performed by a theater company that he helped to found.
Recognition Today, Heaney divides his time between Harvard and his home in Dublin, Ireland. He lectures and conducts writing workshops in both Ireland and the United States. In 1995 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature.
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