THIS COURSE IS NOW FULL
Patrick Kavanagh wrote that imagination is the blossom on the stem of memory. We will look at a selection of Seamus Heaney poems in order to remember him but also to inspire techniques and methods of stimulating the process by which he created his finest work. We will study the control of emotion, the distance of recall, the intensity of vision, the compassion for the suffering individual, the spiritual openness that is evident in the beauty of both his early and later work. Students should be familiar with some of his most loved poems and are encouraged to bring drafts of their own work that are inspired by Heaney’s style of writing. Poems like The Harvest Bow, Mid Term Break, Clearances will be read and analysed for their rich personal truth, their humility, their light and warmth, so that we may learn to incorporate such potent qualities into our own endeavours and keep his poetry as a lodestar in our lives.
Medbh is Belfast born and was part of the younger generation of poets who were taught by Heaney at Queen’s. She has published most of her work with Gallery Press and Wake Forest North Carolina. Her latest collection is The High Caul Cap poems in memory of her mother. A new Selected Poems is due next year. She is a member of Aosdána and the recipient of many literary awards. She travelled widely to read her work.
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