Picture of the Irish poet and Nobel Prize winner Seamus Heaney at the University College Dublin, February 11, 2009.
Pic: Sean O’Connor via Wikimedia Commons
Tomorrow sees a real treat for fans of Irish literature in general and Seamus Heaney in particular, as the National Library of Ireland plays host to Noli Timere: Reflections on the Life and Work of Seamus Heaney.
First performed for London’s Irish Literary Society in 2013, the programme is presented by Professor Michael Parker, Emeritus Professor of English Literature at the University of Central Lancashire (Seamus Heaney: The Making of the Poet), Professor Stephen Regan of the Department of English Studies in Durham University (“Crisis first-hand”: Seamus Heaney before and after the Ceasefire; editor, Irish Writing: An Anthology of Irish Literature in English 1789-1939), and Dr Esther Armstrong, University of the Arts, London.
It features readings of Heaney’s poetry, with insights and commentaries on his work, as well as filmed interviews with Carroll Professor of Irish History Roy Foster and Irish poet and academic Bernard O’Donoghue, who is a fellow and teacher at Wadham College, University of Oxford. There will also be extracts from Seamus Heaney – Out of the Marvellous, a documentary by Charlie McCarthy which celebrated the literary great’s work on the event of his 70th birthday.
The programme begins at 7pm, and while entry is free, booking is essential. Send an email to bookings@nli.ie to avoid disappointment!
By Aimée Mac Leod
