HEANEY, Seamus

“If you have the words, there's always a chance that you'll find the way.”

The eldest of nine children Heaney was born on a farm in Co. Londonderry, Northern Ireland. He was educated at a Catholic boarding school and  then read English at Queen’s University, Belfast. After graduation Heaney worked as a school teacher and subsequently spent spells teaching at colleges and universities including Dublin, Harvard and Oxford.

Heaney’s early books Death of a Naturalist (1966) and Door into the Dark (1969) reflect the writer’s rural upbringing. Later book themes include personal experience, eulogies and political references to the troubles. One of Heaney’s favourite collections of poems is Field Work, (1979) which includes “A Postcard from Antrim” dedicated to his friend Sean Armstrong, who was shot in the troubles.

In 1995 Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature "for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past" and is frequently described as one of Ireland’s most important poets.

Heaney died on 30^th August 2013 at the age of 74, his final words in a message to loved ones, "Noli timere", do not be afraid.

Please scroll down for our current stock of Heaney's work, including first editions, signed books and manuscripts.