Quick Facts
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Seamus Justin Heaney |
| Birth Date | April 13, 1939 |
| Birthplace | Tamniaran, near Castledawson, Northern Ireland |
| Death Date | August 30, 2013 |
| Place of Death | Blackrock, Dublin, Ireland |
| Resting Place | St. Mary’s Church, Bellaghy, Northern Ireland |
| Occupation | Poet, playwright, translator |
| Alma Mater | Queen’s University Belfast |
| Notable Works | – “Death of a Naturalist” (1966) – Nobel Prize in Literature (1995) – “The Gravel Walks” (epitaph on his headstone) |
| Spouse | Marie Devlin (married in 1965) |
| Children | 3 |
| Notable Quotes | “Walk on air against your better judgement” (from “The Gravel Walks”) |
| Academic Positions | – Lecturer at St. Joseph’s College, Belfast – Professor at Harvard University (1981–1997) – Poet in Residence at Harvard (1988–2006) – Professor of Poetry at Oxford (1989–1994) |
| Awards | – Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (1996) – Saoi of Aosdána (1998) |
| Notable Works | – “Death of a Naturalist” (1966) – “Mid-Term break” (poem) – “The Blackbird of Glanmore” (poem) |
| Literary Influence | Robert Lowell described him as “the most important Irish poet since Yeats”. |
| Legacy | – Considered one of the greatest poets of his generation – His work is highly influential and widely studied in literary circles |
| Place of Residence | – Sandymount, Dublin, Ireland (from 1976 until his death) – Part-time in the United States (1981–2006) |
| Notable Associations | – Associated with Bellaghy GAA Club – Wrote poems related to Gaelic football and cultural life in Northern Ireland |
Seamus Heaney Books
| Books | Year |
|---|---|
| Death of a Naturalist | 1966 |
| Clearances | 1986 |
| Poems | 1996 |
| The Cure at Troy | 1990 |
| Human Chain | 2010 |
| Field Work | 1979 |
| Bog poems | 1975 |
| Station Island | 1984 |
| Crediting Poetry | 1995 |
| District and Circle | 2006 |
| 100 Poems | 2018 |
| Door into the Dark | 1969 |
| The Letters of Seamus Heaney | |
| The Haw Lantern | 1987 |
| Opened Ground: Selected Poems, 1966-1996 | 1998 |
| Wintering Out | 1972 |
| Sweeney Astray | 1983 |
| Opened Ground: Poems 1966–1996 | 1998 |
| Aeneid Book VI | 2018 |
| The Redress of Poetry | 1990 |
| The Translations of Seamus Heaney | |
| The government of the tongue | 1989 |
| Beacons at Bealtaine | |
| Finders keepers | 2002 |
| Selected Poems 1988-2013 | 1990 |
| Something to Write Home About: A Meditation for Television | 2001 |
| Poems, 1965-1975 | 1973 |
| North: Poems | 1998 |
| Hedge School: Sonnets from Glanmore | 1979 |
| The Testament of Cresseid: A Retelling of Robert Henryson’s Poem | 2004 |
| Anything can happen: a poem and essay | 1940 |
| A Boy Driving His Father to Confession | 1970 |
| The Last Walk | |
| Field Work: Faber Modern Classics | 1979 |
| The Tree Clock | 1990 |
| Sounding lines | 2000 |
| Writer and Righter | 2010 |
| Cork Literary Review | 2001 |
| Barrie Cooke: claoclo.́ | 1992 |
| The Riverbank Field | 2007 |
| Poèmes, 1966-1984 | 1988 |
| Canopy: A Work for Voice and Light in Harvard Yard | 1997 |
| Canadian Writ Ref 5e&writing about Lit 2e 09 MLA Upd&bedford Gloss Crit&lit 3e&day in Life Ivan Den&opened Ground&taming of Shrew | |
| Preoccupations: Selected Prose, 1968-1978 | 1980 |
