Seamus Heaney in Context

Few poets have captured the imagination of the world like Seamus Heaney. Recognized as one of the truly outstanding poets of our time, Heaney's work is both critically acclaimed and popular with the general reader. It is taught in classrooms across the globe and has been translated into more than twenty-seven languages. Presenting original research from an international field of scholars, Seamus Heaney in Context offers new pathways to explore the places, times and influences that made Heaney a poet. Drawing on newly available archival and print sources, these essays situate Heaney in a multitude of contexts that help readers navigate received ideas about his life and work. In mapping intersecting themes in the current terrain of Heaney criticism, this study also signposts new directions for understanding Heaney's poetry in future contexts.

Introduction; Part I. Mapping: 1. Scotland Patrick Crotty; 2. England John McAuliffe; 3. Eastern Europe Margaret Greaves; 4. America Sarah Bennett; Part II. Influences and Traditions: 5. Wordsworth and romanticism Matthew Campbell; 6. Thomas Hardy Ron Schuchard; 7. W. B. Yeats Meg Harper; 8. T. S. Eliot Stephen Regan; 9. Louis MacNeice Catriona Clutterbuck; Part III. Poetics: 10. Lyric form John Redmond; 11. Proper nouns Vona Groarke; 12. Language Bernard O'Donoghue; 13. Elegy Brendan Corcoran; 14. Music Simon B. Kress; Part IV. Publishing: 15. The Belfast group Heather Clarke; 16. In print Nathan Suhr-Sytsma; 17. Field day Marilynn Richtarik; 18. Translation Aidan O'Malley; Part V. Frameworks: 19. Catholicism Kieran Quinlan; 20. Classical roots Florence Impens; 21. Politics Jonathan Allison; 22. Education Rosie Lavan; 23. War and peace Richard Rankin Russell; Part VI. Critical Contexts: 24. The feminine Laura O'Connor; 25. The third phase Kevin Whelan; 26. Critical audiences Justin Quinn; 27. The postcolonial Deepika Bahri; 28. The Archipelago Nicholas Allen; Part VII. Legacy: 29. In public Fintan O'Toole; 30. Exhibiting Heaney Geraldine Higgins; 31. The archive Rand Brandes; 32. Legacy Chris Morash.

Geraldine Higgins is Associate Professor of English and Director of Irish Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Her publications include works on Yeats and other Revival writers, Yeats and popular culture, Brian Friel and Seamus Heaney. She is the curator of the National Library of Ireland's acclaimed exhibition, 'Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again', open at the Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre in Dublin until 2023 A former director of the W.B. Yeats Summer School in Sligo, Ireland, she was Emory's Massee-Martin/NEH distinguished teaching chair from 2015–2018.