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Episode Notes
From The Republic of Conscience by Seamus Heaney
Drama On One's commemoration of International Holocaust Memorial Day.
Seamus Heaney's poem, "From the Republic of Conscience," was written in 1985 to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Amnesty International and yet it might have been written today. The poet reminds us that we are each dual citizens and life-ambassadors for a simpler, more principled country, and that today we must consider whether and how our moral geographies are being disrupted by new political realities and how we retain or even retake, as Seamus Heaney might have termed, our home ground - a Republic of Conscience often threatened by the constructed barriers of racism, misogyny, ideological orthodoxy or other fear-based policies.
This is Vanessa Redgrave, in 2007, introducing and reading From the Republic of Conscience, by Seamus Heaney.
The poem can be found in Seamus Heaney - 100 Poems, published by Faber and Faber, and if you're in Dublin, be sure to visit The Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again Exhibition at The Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre at College Green. Entrance, via Westmoreland Street, is free.