Reviews

• Seamus Heaney's passing a real shame

  The world just lost one of its most thoughtful poets when Seamus Heaney died just a couple of weeks ago. I received this collection of his interviews with Dennis O'Driscoll about the same time, so reading it was especially poignant. I appreciated the depth of Heaney's answers to O'Driscoll's probing questions, all very literary and quite thorough. Because I am writing a paper on the poetry of the IRA hunger striker, Bobby Sands, I wanted to compare his background and work to that of Ireland most famous literary son since W. B. Yeats. I found there was little to compare. Heaney's upbringing was largely protected and privileged, his path toward success directed early in his life via private schools and university education, meeting and befriending the intelligentsia of his day; his Nobel Laureate practically a shoe-in. Sands had no privileges, only obstacles, and though his poetry does not begin to measure up to Heaney's in form or depth, the conditions under which he was forced to write and the passion that fueled his cause made concrete through his pen puts anything Heaney did to shame. Heaney admits he could have taken up the cause for Ireland's freedom, as did Sands, but he preferred a life cloistered from chaos--and sacrifice. While Heaney's work will live on for its poetic perfection, perhaps, Sands dedication to freedom and peace in Northern Ireland will be the greater and more lasting contribution.

• A STREAM IN FULL SPATE

  This unique and different interview style bio is a survey of Heaney's life, O'Driscoll uses Heaney's poems as reference points, to give a biographical context of those poems in a poetry based account of Heaney' s life . The interviews take place over a period upto 2008, from a perspective of Heaney's late sixties and aims, and succeeds , in being a stock-taking rather than a summing up. As Heaney pointed out in his Nobel prize giving speech , his poetic journey was one' where each point of arrival turned out to be a stepping stone rather than a destination' and further confirmed by Heaney's observation that some of his poems (eg The Guttural Muse)'took him to the bottom of himself, something inchoate.. but enabledv him arrive at a older , deeper, cleaner spring.' The late Dennis O'Driscoll , being a notable Irish poet ,essayist and critic himself, is the perfect biographer for such an acknowledged 'poetic great'.

• The man behind the poetry

  Great book for anyone interested in the poet. The extended interviews, mostly carried out by post, are conducted by Dennis O’Driscoll who clearly knows Heaney and his work intimately. Each interview takes as its starting point a different collection in chronological order. Heaney comes across as a powerfully intelligent individual with his feet firmly rooted in family and kinship. I learned a great deal about the genesis of the poetry and far more about the man himself. This will encourage readers to take an even greater interest in the poetry not only of Heaney but also the work of some of the other artists cited as influences. Highly readable, highly recommended.

• Memories of Mr. Heaney

  I saw and heard Mr. Heaney read his work more than three decades ago after he won the Nobel Prize. He autographed my collection of his work, translated into Irish by Gabriel Rosenstock. Although had he little Irish at the time, he was intrigued and delighted that his work was accessible in Irish to Irish speakers. What impressed me most was his humility, warmth. and love of the spoken word. This collection captures his love for his craft and humanity, and is wonderful. Hearing his poetry read is so different from reading his words on paper. I am so grateful to have the spoken words and memories of a great poet too soon gone.

• A great book to read and re read,,,,,

  I originally bought this book in hardback and now have it on Kindle also,,, its a gem,, great to get some insights into the genius that was and is SH.... he shares so much of himself, the book benefits from the fact that it was done over a period of time and the answers are measured and complete,,,,, as they are the result of email correspondence as well as actual interviews between two fine poets who obviously respected one another. The book can be dipped into as a refernce to the various collections of poetry or even for insights into an individual poem. The humanity, humour and humility of the man comes through. They are both big losses,,,,,ni beidh a leitheidi aris ann... may the sod rest lightly on them both.

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