Seamus Heaney: The Making of a Poet

What is it about?

One of the earliest studies of Seamus Heaney's work, this offers an account of his early life, and the experiences, influences and relationships - personal, literary and political - that shaped his poetic development. It includes a considerable amount of original material including photographs, interviews, insights into possible "sources" of his poems, commentary on unpublished poems and drafts, as well as readings of each of Heaney's collections up to "Seeing Things" (1991).

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Why is it important?

This study combined closes reading of each of his major poetry collections from the early and middle period of his career, with more biographical information and historical contextualisation than had appeared in previous volumes. It is frequently cited as one of the most important works of criticism on Heaney, and laid a foundation for much of my own later work on Northern Irish Literature.