To commemorate the 10th anniversary of the death of Seamus Heaney, RTÉ presents a series of essential recordings from the archives.
This edition of RTÉ Radio's The Arts Show, presented by Vincent Woods was broadcast as part of the day-long celebrations across RTÉ for Seamus Heaney on his 70th birthday on 13 April 2009.
Vincent introduces Dennis O’Driscoll, poet and author of Stepping Stones: Interviews with Seamus Heaney published by Faber, Heaney’s long-time friend, critic and friend Helen Vendler and poet Peter Sirr who contributed the note to the then just published Seamus Heaney - Collected Poems CD box set.
The trio discuss a selection of Heaney’s poems they have chosen from the CD; their observations are fascinating for their perspectives, the relationships they had with the poet and their understanding and insights around his work. Poems covered include The Forge from Door into the Dark (1969), Limbo from Wintering Out (1972), Punishment from North (1975), the closing section of Alphabets from The Haw Lantern (1987) and Anything Can Happen from District and Circle (2006).
The mammoth project of Seamus Heaney recording all the poems from his published collections was supported by The Lannan Foundation and produced and published by RTÉ.
