Crossing Borders: Heaney and the Ulster 'Thing' by Dr Pauric Travers

The latest in the current series of Heaney lectures was delivered in the College on 21 February by Pauric Travers on the subject ‘Crossing Borders: Heaney and the Ulster Thing.’ Dr Travers dealt briefly with Heaney’s childhood and schooling – Master Murphy, his teacher in Anahorish school, was a student in St Patrick’s College from 1907-09 - before tracing his poetic and personal response to the Ulster troubles. Drawing particularly on the collections North (1975) and Station Island (1984), District and Circle (2006) and Human Chain (2010), the speaker discussed the poet's response to some of the major events in Northern Ireland since the 1960s and in particular Bloody Sunday and the Hunger Strikes. He highlighted the moral dilemmas posed by the troubles for moderate nationalists and liberal intellectuals and suggested that, in the case of Heaney, the inner turmoil has resulted in great poetry. He also contended that Heaney’s most recent collections have brought his art to a new level. In his conclusion, Dr Travers explored the relationship between art and politics and the ‘in-betweenness’ of Heaney’s stance.

The lecture was chaired by John Kelly, the distinguished broadcaster and journalist and was followed by a lively discussion and an informal reception..

Link here to Podcast

 

 

 

 

Last Updated: Monday February 28 2011