wbur.org
support wbur today!
Listen to this story
Seamus Heaney
photo

By host Tom Ashbrook:

Nobel Prize-winning Irish poet Seamus Heaney, son of the farm and County Derry, put his spade in forty years ago with a first poem called “Digging.” It was dense and sure, with a sense of place and earth that turned heads around the world.

In the decades since, Heaney’s rich, vivid poetry has ranged over myth and legend, politics and violence and the classics. Now, he’s back to earth and farm and sweat and tools.

Not the marshmallow, rubber-dagger stuff, he says, but the feel of a sledge hammer, red meat and white string, the harrow pin and collie’s stare – as it was in the beginning, he writes — but telling all there is to know.

Hear the great Seamus Heaney talk about his new collection, “District and Circle.”

Guests:

Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate in Literature, Irish Poet, Translator, and Essayist. Author of numerous collections of poetry and prose including: Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark, North, Field Work, Station Island, Seeing Things, The Spirit Level, and his most recent, “District and Circle.”

 
 

Comments are closed.

On Point Today
After ‘No Child Left Behind’
Thursday, March 18, 2010

The Obama administration wants to rewrite No Child Left Behind. We’ll ask what’s coming for American education.

Comments [41]
 
The U.S.-Israel Blowup
Thursday, March 18, 2010

Top Pentagon brass complain the Israel-Palestinian impasse is undermining American interests. We’ll look at the US-Israel moment of crisis.

Comments [109]

Recent Shows
Jazz Great Sonny Rollins
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 (photo: sonnyrollins.com)

We’ll talk with tenor saxophone great Sonny Rollins about his six decades at the pinnacle of jazz.

Comments [21]
 
Ireland’s Epic Boom and Bust
Wednesday, March 17, 2010

For more than a decade Ireland boomed. It was Europe’s Celtic Tiger. Then it came crashing down. We’ll look at Ireland’s wild rise, and what went wrong.

Comments [24]
On Point Blog
Sonny Rollins on Race and Jazz’s Future

Jazz legend Sonny Rollins joined us to reflect on his storied career and give us his thoughts on the future of music. To celebrate his 80th birthday, the hugely influential tenor saxophonist is embarking on yet another national tour.

More »
 
IED’s in Afghanistan: Hard Numbers

The Department of Defense provided On Point with some statistics about IED attacks in Afghanistan, where there has been an increase in the use of such weapons over the past 14 months. It’s striking to see the spike in numbers — from 2,677 IED incidents in 2007 to 8,159 last year.

More » | Comments [2]
 
Christopher Hill: U.S. Troop Withdrawal ‘On Schedule’

U.S. Ambassaor to Iraq Christopher Hill spoke with On Point live from Baghdad today as early voting gets underway, part of the run-up to Sunday’s elections. “So far so good,” Hill said, despite scattered violence. Hill said that the plan to withdraw U.S. combat troops by Sept. 1, and to leave only a residual advisory force of 50,000 or fewer, remains “very much on schedule.” Observers worry that a spike in violence could derail that timeline.

More »