Seamus Heaney - America

America

In 1970, Seamus Heaney was offered a one-year position as visiting lecturer at the Berkeley campus of the University of California. He took his family with him and began a long-lasting relationship with America. From 1981, Heaney spent part of every year teaching at Harvard University and was appointed to one of its most prestigious offices, Boylston Professor of Rhetoric and Oratory.

"It Was The Most Important Year of My Life, Maybe"

Seamus Heaney talks about his year teaching in California in 1970. He found himself in America experiencing the beat movement and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations. He also met the writer and academic Tom Flanagan and had a reorientation towards Ireland. Here, the poet recalls the important influence this year had on his life and work.

Seamus Heaney in Harvard

While teaching in Harvard in 1979, Seamus Heaney was visited by RTÉ's Proinsias Ó Conluain. In this extract, Heaney shares his first impressions of the university. Heaney and Ó Conluain discuss their surprise and pleasure at the availability of Irish provincial newspapers and the novelty of automated teller machines (ATMs).

Student and Teacher

A student of Heaney's at Harvard describes how a class with the poet works. Seamus Heaney then explains how he organises the workshops for students.