The Second Coming Turning and turning in the widening gyre The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the … Continue Reading Yeats Apocalyptic: “The Second Coming,” “Meru,” “The Gyres”
Seamus Heaney, from “Squarings” Seamus Heaney often said that, from his experience as a poet, one’s creative life followed three … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, from “Squarings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Crossings” Seamus Heaney often said that, from his experience as a poet, one’s creative life followed three … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, from “Crossings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Settings” Seamus Heaney often said that, from his experience as a poet, one’s creative life followed three … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, from “Settings”
Seamus Heaney, from “Lightenings” Seamus Heaney often said that, from his experience as a poet, one’s creative life followed three … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, from “Lightenings”
Seamus Heaney, “The Strand at Lough Beg” In Memory of Colum McCartney All round this little island, on the strand … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney, “The Strand at Lough Beg” (An Elegy from the Troubles)
Eavan Boland, “The Mother Tongue” The old pale ditch can still be seen less than half a mile from my … Continue Reading Eavan Boland, “The Mother Tongue”
From the end of Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf, here is an immense mourning for a person and a civilization, … Continue Reading Seamus Heaney’s “Beowulf”
W. B. Yeats, “Meru” Civilisation is hooped together, broughtUnder a rule, under the semblance of peaceBy manifold illusion; but man’s … Continue Reading W. B. Yeats, “Meru”
Here’s a nice anecdote told twice, first from some anonymous Irish source, and then Seamus Heaney’s version of it in … Continue Reading Ship in Air
Here are some of Seamus Heaney’s memories of reading, writing, and poetry, from earliest schooldays to university, all taken from … Continue Reading Heaney Comes to Poetry
Here’s Seamus Heaney talking about writing, from Dennis O’Driscoll’s book-length interview with him, Stepping Stones: On Inspiration On the week … Continue Reading Heaney on Writing
from “Clearances” When all the others were away at Mass I was all hers as we peeled potatoes. They broke … Continue Reading 5 Elegies by Seamus Heaney
My Mother’s Sister I see her against the pearl sky of Dublin Before the turn of the century, a young … Continue Reading “My Mother’s Sister,” by C. Day-Lewis
One way to understand where poetry is now is to see where it was a hundred years ago. Every Saturday … Continue Reading 20th Century Poetry #7: W. B. Yeats
Here’s W. B. Yeats recalling his earliest experiences of poetry: ….This may have come from the stable-boy, for he was … Continue Reading Yeats Discovers Poetry
