Seamus Heaney describes how he first came to read Kavanagh and how Kavanagh's work taught him "that nothing is trivial", and that the ordinary or common place is as important as the largest theme.

Heaney also discusses Kavanagh's first book of published poetry 'Ploughman and Other Poems' and the progression to his next work, the epic poem, 'The Great Hunger'.

"In the introduction to his 'Collected Poems', Patrick Kavanagh wrote something which I think is very relevant both for himself and for all poets, 'A man innocently dabbles in words and rhymes and finds that it is his life'. I didn't in fact meet Patrick Kavanagh until about three months ago, but I knew his poems from the moment that I myself began 'innocently to dabble in words'..."

Title:
 On Patrick Kavanagh
Clip Duration:
 00:03:04
Material Type:
 Audio
Clip Title:
 Seamus Heaney on Patrick Kavanagh
Series Title:
 Topic
Information:
 'Topic' was a programme of reports, interviews and opinions. This episode of 'Topic', which was a tribute to Patrick Kavanagh, featured Seamus Heaney, John Ryan, Liam Miller, Christine Longford and Tomas MacAnna. The exact broadcast date of this edition of 'Topic' is not clear but was probably in December 1967 after Kavanagh's death.
Local Keywords:
 Patrick Kavanagh, Poet, Poetry, Seamus Heaney, Ploughman and Other Poems, The Great Hunger, Collected Poems
Coverage:
 Ireland
Topic:
 Arts and Culture
Contributor(s):
 John Bowman (Presenter)
Publisher:
 RTÉ
First Broadcast Channel:
 RTÉ
Production Year:
 1967
Country of Production:
 Ireland
Original Identifier:
 BB1863
IPR Restrictions:
 Rights Reserved - Free Access
Rights, Terms and Conditions:
 Copyright RTÉ. This material may not be replicated in any form or manner without the prior express permission of RTÉ. Any form of reproduction in print, television, video, multimedia, web site or other electronic media or any form of dissemination for commercial or non-commercial use must be licensed by the RTÉ Archives. If you wish to licence video or audio clips, still images or text, or would like further guidance please contact us. RTÉ Archives are committed to respecting the copyright of others and have attempted to source and credit the copyright owners of all material used here. RTÉ would like to hear from any copyright owners who are not properly identified here so that the necessary corrections can be made. If you feel your copyright has not been respected please contact us.
Item Type:
 part/extract
Sound:
 Mono
Language:
 English (eng)
Keywords:
1967