Four Fridays: April 21, 28, May 5, 12, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET Online
Seamus Heaney (1939-2013) has been among the most beloved of modern poets and won the Nobel Prize for Literature. The Poetry of Seamus Heaney will use one book, Broken Ground: Poems 1966-1996 (no advance readings required). Since Heaney’s 1965 “Digging,” the first poem in Death of a Naturalist, he has been among the most read poets in English. He has articulated experiences of his vivid childhood sensations on a Derry farm and explored political tensions in Northern Ireland. He has combined personal lyrics with public themes. He was also a fine translator of classic verse and drama from various languages. Four consecutive Fridays: April 21, 28, May 5, 12, from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. ET Online Class.
His poetry has echoed “the music of what happens.” He expressed the brute realities of history, but imaged a future when (as quoted by two US Presidents):
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up,
And hope and history rhyme.
This class will explore some of Heaney’s best poems, along with recordings and visuals. Recommended poems will be assigned before class sessions.
The class icon image credit: Painting by Janet Griffin
Text: The one book is Opened Ground: Selected Poems, 1966-1996 by Seamus Heaney. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1999. There are no advance readings required for this class.
Christopher Griffin is from Yeats country in County Galway. He studied at Trinity College and University College in Dublin. He taught courses in Irish literature at George Washington University for eight years and at Politics and Prose for 30 years, including Heaney classes. He was a study leader on 20 Smithsonian Journeys and lectured for Smithsonian Associates.
REFUND POLICY: Please note that we can issue class refunds up until seven (7) days before the first class session.
