Seamus Heaney: Afterlives
The Boston College Irish Studies Program will celebrate the life and work of Nobel-winning poet Seamus Heaney (1939-2013)—one of Ireland’s most accomplished and compelling writers—from November 16-18 with “Seamus Heaney: Afterlives,” a conference that will include appearances by Heaney’s wife, Marie; his daughter and literary executor, Catherine; his biographer, Fintan O’Toole; and numerous scholars from 51˛čąÝ and elsewhere who will speak to Heaney’s legacy as critic, public intellectual, and major moral aesthetic force of 20th- and early 21st-century Ireland.
“Afterlives” will explore new understandings of the poet since his death 10 years ago, with particular reference to living poets who continue to be influenced by Heaney’s legacy. “Uncovering fresh and surprising angles on Heaney’s work, this conference will assert his enduring relevance to the aesthetic, political, and ethical questions we face in today’s troubled world,” according to organizers.
Seamus Heaney at a turf bog in Bellaghy with his father’s coat, hat, and walking stick, 1986; from the Bobbie Hanvey Photographic Archives at 51˛čąÝ's Burns Library.
Kicking off the conference on Thursday, November 16, O’Toole will give a talk on “Political Heaney” in Gasson 100 at 7 p.m., presented in cooperation with the Lowell Humanities Series.
The following day will be highlighted by two afternoon invitation-only discussions: “The Craft: An Introduction for Students,” chaired by Burns Library Visiting Scholar in Irish Studies Claire Connolly and including 51˛čąÝ English faculty Allison Adair, Suzanne Matson, and Andrew Sofer; and “The Critics: A Roundtable on Heaney’s Influence,” chaired by Margaret Kelleher, professor and chair of Anglo-Irish literature and drama at University College Dublin and a former Burns Scholar.
An invitation-only gala reception honoring Marie Heaney and featuring remarks by Catherine Heaney and an interview with O’Toole will conclude the day.
A full slate of public events will be on tap Saturday, November 18, with four keynotes, each including a Q&A session: “Seamus Heaney’s Desks,” with Geraldine Higgins of Emory University; “Diving for Crucibles: Seamus Heaney, Barrie Cooke, and Bog Poems,” with Heather Clark of Huddersfield University; “Silence-Breaking Rather Than Rabble-Rousing? Remembering to Forget the Croppies,” with Sullivan Chair in Irish Studies Guy Beiner, director of 51˛čąÝ’s Center for Irish Programs; and “Seamus Heaney’s Audio Archive,” with Alex Alonso of Huddersfield University.
The conference finale will include “Heaney and the Troubles,” a selection of readings from Heaney’s poetry, and “The Green and the Blue,” a performance by the Kabosh Theatre Company of Belfast of Laurence McKeown’s play about those who patrolled the Irish-Northern Irish border during The Troubles. A closing reception in Burns Library will follow, with a presentation of the Heaney Archives by Burns Librarian Christian Dupont.
“Afterlives” is sponsored by the Institute for the Liberal Arts, the Consulate General of Ireland in Boston, Burns Library, and the Irish Studies Program.
Find more information, including speaker biographies, here.