Heaney talks about the purpose of poetry and art in our society.
In conversation with Mike Murphy, Heaney discusses issues raised in his collection of criticism 'The Government of the Tongue' about the purpose of poetry and art in our society. Coming from a farming background, art was something he wanted to justify. As a teacher, it was also a question that came up with students, who wanted to know why they were studying the likes of Shakespeare. Heaney talks about the joy of writing and the fundamental value of poetry.
| Title: | Reading the Future: Poet Seamus Heaney |
| Clip Duration: | 00:06:20 |
| Material Type: | Audio |
| Clip Title: | Are You Fiddling While Rome Burns? |
| Series Title: | Reading the Future |
| Information: | ‘Reading the Future’ was a 13-part radio series featuring Mike Murphy in conversation with 12 Irish writers, including Seamus Heaney, Edna O’Brien and Tom Murphy. The first programme, an introductory discussion on Irish writing, was broadcast on 18 November 2000. The series ended on 10 February 2001 with a William Trevor interview. The accompanying image shows a detail from the cover of 'The Government of the Tongue' by Seamus Heaney. Image with kind permission of Faber and Faber Ltd. |
| Local Keywords: | Seamus Heaney, Poet, Poetry, Literature, Art, Criticism, The Government of the Tongue, William Shakespeare, Mike Murphy |
| Coverage: | Ireland |
| Genre: | Factual |
| Topic: | Arts and Culture |
| Provider: | RTÉ |
| Contributor(s): | Mike Murphy (Presenter) |
| Publisher: | RTÉ |
| First Broadcast Channel: | RTÉ Radio One |
| Production Year: | 2000 |
| Country of Production: | Ireland |
| Original Identifier: | AA12276 |
| 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.
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| Item Type: | part/extract |
| Sound: | Mono |
| Language: | English (eng) |
