The Poems of Seamus Heaney
For those who enjoy poetry, the poems of Seamus Heaney is a weighty volume, a comprehensive collection of all of Seamus’ work. Heaney’s relationship with Catholicism is often debated but he insisted on a Catholic Raqiem and burial , and his verse is infused with faith from his youth. Amongst my favourites are St Kevin and the blackbird: In illo tempare, Canva and Miracle.
A few lines from Confirmation Day:
”… and the camera caught us, in the state of grace
And turned down ankle socks, with hands joined…”
The book is expensive but would make a wonderful present.
Patrick Doyle
Title: The Poems of Seamus Heaney
Author: Seamus Heaney
Edited by: Bernard O’Donaghue & Matthew Hollis
Publisher: Faber & Faber 2025
Publication date: 9 October 2025
Paperback, 1100 pages
Hardcover, 1296 PagesISBN- 978-0-571-34040-8
‘More than any other poet since Wordsworth he can make us understand that the outside world is not outside, but what we are made of.’ John Carey.