Latest news with #SeamusHeaneyCentre
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Herald Scotland
50th anniversary of Seamus Heaney's landmark collection on Troubles to be marked
The event, in partnership with Trinity College Dublin, takes place from June 5-7 and will also mark the first anniversary of the Belfast venue. Poet Paul Muldoon will be among those taking part in the event at the Seamus Heaney Centre (Liam McBurney/PA) Heaney, who died in 2013, was one of the world's best known modern poets. Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon and Professor Edna Longley will be among authors, academics and poets discussing the significance of North 50 years on. There will also be a family friendly traditional music session and a screening of the documentary Heaney in Limboland, made for TV in 1970 and featuring Heaney's views on the rapidly deteriorating political situation in Northern Ireland. Upon publication in 1975, the American poet Robert Lowell said North represented 'a new kind of political poetry by the best Irish poet since WB Yeats' and the anthology went on to win awards including the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize and the WH Smith Memorial Prize. Heaney himself admitted the collection took a 'hammering' from other quarters, closer to home, for its representation of violence and gender politics. Many academics consider it to be a key moment in the evolution of Heaney from a significant Irish poet to a poet of international standing, culminating in his winning of the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995. Director of the Seamus Heaney Centre, Professor Glenn Patterson said: 'Whichever way you come at it, in admiration, in awe or in search of an argument, there is no understanding poetry from these islands in the past half century, without North. 'There are not many books, of any kind, that merit an 'at 50' conference, but North seems only to grow in significance with every year that passes, and with every year that passes to attract new readers, and new critical thinking.' The poet's daughter Catherine Heaney, said: 'We are proud and honoured that the 50th anniversary of North is being marked with this conference, alongside Faber's reissue of the volume in its original jacket. 'The publication was such a seminal moment in my father's life and career and it is testament to its staying power that, five decades on, it continues to resonate with readers and inspire scholarly debate.' Dr Stephen O'Neill from Trinity College Dublin said: 'Written under the strain of what Seamus Heaney called 'a very high pressure', North was a landmark in his writing career. 'It was and is also a landmark in criticism, as a subject for many of the leading critics of Irish literature then and now. 'Organised to coincide with Faber's anniversary republication of the volume, the conference is a chance to reflect upon the impact of Heaney's fourth collection and reassess its reception.' All events will take place at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's. Attendance is free but registration is required.
The Independent
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Adrian Dunbar gives rare art book to the Seamus Heaney Centre
Line Of Duty star Adrian Dunbar has given a rare poetry and art book to the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University, Belfast. Happenstance was created by the painter Brian Ballard and poet and writer Ciaran Carson, the late founder and former director of the centre. Conceived in 2012, the book combines the artistry of Carson and Ballard with the traditional craftsmanship of letterpress printing, screen printing and bookbinding. It was published in 2013 in a limited edition of just 30 copies. Actor Dunbar donated the book to the Seamus Heaney Centre at an event on Thursday evening with readings and traditional music. Painter Ballard and members of the Carson family were in attendance. The book will be displayed in the centre's public exhibition area which tells the story of writing at Queen's and the creative outcomes of friendships between poets and artists. Dunbar said: 'In my eyes, art is about connections between things. 'By bringing the book Happenstance into being we connected painting and writing with wonderful printing skills. 'This created a completely new piece of art with its own existence and its own voice.' Dr Patricia Malone and Dr Anna Cummins, collections managers at the Seamus Heaney Centre said: 'The collections team at the Seamus Heaney Centre are thrilled to receive this copy of Happenstance, a piece of work that celebrates the tactility of text and the serendipity of collaborative creation: things that happen, as our former centre director Ciaran Carson said, 'on the hoof, because you happen to be there'. 'A welcome addition to our extant holdings, which include Ciaran's working library and the Seamus Heaney Broadcast Archive, Happenstance is received with gratitude and wonder – and our usual invitation to the public to come see for yourself.' Michael O'Neill, creative director at Armchair & Rocket who published the book, said: 'Happenstance is really a celebration of art. 'The work of both Brian Ballard and Ciaran Carson is a supreme example of how art is a kind of meditation on the deep complexity of life.' The public exhibition area at the centre is open to visitors Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-4pm.
