The Poems of Seamus Heaney

Nobel Prize in Literature 1995 ''More than any other poet since Wordsworth he can make us understand that the outside world is not outside, but what we are made of.'' John Carey This is the long-awaited, definitive edition of Seamus Heaney''s poetry. It encompasses all the poems Heaney published in his lifetime as well as the small number that appeared after his death: twelve single volumes, from Death of a Naturalist (1966) to Human Chain (2010), and those poems published in pamphlets, journals and magazines or with limited circulation. In addition, the book includes a small selection of previously unseen work. We find a body of work that, in its entirety, resounds with the ''lyrical beauty and ethical depth'' cited by the Nobel committee: poems ''which exalt everyday miracles and the living past.'' Critical introductions and notes illuminate the composition and histories of the poems, making this the essential volume for admirers of the work. ''Heaney''s voice, by turns mythological and journalistic, rural and sophisticated, reminiscent and impatient, stern and yielding, curt and expansive, is one of a suppleness almost equal to consciousness itself.'' Helen Vendler ''These poems find - in the dowser''s gift and the child''s perception of the world - images of the marvellous that are also wonderfully grounded. . . Heaney is a poet who deserves to be read in entirety.'' Jamie McKendrick ''For Heaney, there were marvels enough in this world, and never mind the next. Ordinary objects and places - a sofa, a wireless, a satchel, a gust of wind, the sound of rain - were sanctified.'' Blake Morrison

Product details

• Authors: Seamus Heaney
• Assisted by: Matthew Hollis (Editor), Hollis Matthew (Editor), Rosie Lavan (Editor), Bernard O'Donoghue (Editor), O'Donoghue Bernard (Editor)
• Publisher: Faber & Faber
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 09.10.2025
• EAN: 9780571340385
• ISBN: 978-0-571-34038-5
• No. of pages: 1296
• Subjects: Fiction > Poetry, drama > Poetry; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; POETRY / General, Poetry, LITERARY CRITICISM / Poetry, POETRY / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Literary studies: poetry & poets, Poetry by individual poets, Modern and contemporary poetry (c 1900 onwards), Literary studies: poetry and poets