Every now and again I need to get down here, to get into the
Diogenes tub, as it were, or the Colmcille beehive hut, or the
Mossbawn scullery. At any rate, a hedge surrounds me, the blackbird
calls, the soul settles for an hour or two . . . For all his public
eminence, Seamus Heaney seems never to have lost the compelling
need to write personal letters. In this ample but discriminating
selection from fifty years of his correspondence, we are given
access as never before to the life and poetic development of a
literary titan - from his early days in Belfast, through his
controversial decision to settle in the Republic, to the gradual
broadening of horizons that culminated in the award of a Nobel
Prize and the years of international acclaim that kept him
heroically busy until his death. Editor Christopher Reid draws from
both public and private archives to reveal this story in the poet's
own words. Generous, funny, exuberant, confiding, irreverent,
empathetic and deeply thoughtful, the letters encompass
decades-long relationships with friends and colleagues, as well as
showing an unstinted responsiveness to passing acquaintances.
Moreover, Heaney's joyous mastery of language is as evident here as
it is in any of his writing for a literary readership. Listening to
Heaney's voice, we find ourselves in the same room as a man whose
presence, when he lived, enriched the world immeasurably, and whose
legacy continues to deepen our sense of what truly matters.
General
Imprint: |
Faber and Faber
|
Country of origin: |
United Kingdom |
Release date: |
September 2023 |
Authors: |
Seamus Heaney
|
Dimensions: |
234 x 153 x 40mm (L x W x T) |
Pages: |
784 |
Edition: |
Main |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-571-34108-5 |
Categories: |
Books
|
LSN: |
0-571-34108-X |
Barcode: |
9780571341085 |
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