As a kid, this was one of the first poems that I ever really loved. It had everything going for it. It was about the things I did with my friends. It also had a funny twist, that made me giggle, and best of all, it used a form of the word fart. What was not to like about it? But as a poet, it also provides lessons in the use of language, and how the right word can change the experience from merely reading a poem to being right there experiencing it. And since the day before recording this episode marked the 7th anniversary of the death of Ireland's greatest ever poet, I wanted to discuss the first poem he wrote that I loved. Seamus Heaney was a wonderful poet and an absolute gentleman. May his memory give comfort to his family as his words have often comforted others.
To read the poem, click HERE.
To learn about the life of Seamus Heaney, click HERE.
To visit the Seamus Heaney Home website, click HERE.
To buy the audiobook of Seamus reading his poetry, click HERE.
The recording used in this poem was taken from Seamus Heaney Collected Poems volume 1. Volume one of the definitive collection of Seamus Heaney reading his own work, recorded in 2009 by RTE. Volume one contains four collections published between 1966 and 1975: Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark, Wintering Out and North.
©1975 Seamus Heaney (P)2018 Faber Audio
For information about my work, check out the link HERE.
