Seamus Heaney Knihy

Irského nositele Nobelovy ceny za literaturu, básníka Seamuse Heaneyho, už věru není třeba po návštěvě v Praze představovat. Třetí vydání celoživotního výboru bylo rozšířeno o několik ukázek z jeho nejnovější sbírky.

The poems in Seamus Heaney's collection The Spirit Level keep discovering the possibilities of 'a new beginning' in all kinds of subjects and circumstances. What is at stake, in poem after poem, is the chance of buoyancy and balance, physical, spiritual and political.

Seamus Heaney's new collection elicits continuities and solidarities, between husband and wife, child and parent, then and now, inside an intently remembered present - the stepping stones of the day, the weight and heft of what is passed from hand to hand, lifted and lowered. Human Chain also broaches larger questions of transmission, as lifelines to the inherited past. There are newly minted versions of anonymous early Irish lyrics, poems which stand at the crossroads of oral and written, and other 'hermit songs' which weigh equally in their balance the craft of scribe and the poet's early calling as scholar. A remarkable sequence entitled 'Route 110' plots the descent into the underworld in the Aeneid against single moments in the arc of a life, from a 1950s adolescence to the birth of the poet's first grandchild. Other poems display a Virgilian pietas for the dead - friends, neighbours and family - which is yet wholly and movingly vernacular. Human Chain is Seamus Heaney's twelfth collection of poems.

In a momentous publication, Seamus Heaney's translation of Book VI of the Aeneid, Virgil's epic poem composed sometime between 29 and 19 BC, follows the hero, Aeneas, on his descent into the underworld. In Stepping Stones, a book of interviews conducted by Dennis O'Driscoll, Heaney acknowledged the importance of the poem to his writing, noting that 'there's one Virgilian journey that has indeed been a constant presence, and that is Aeneas's venture into the underworld. The motifs in Book VI have been in my head for years - the golden bough, Charon's barge, the quest to meet the shade of the father.' In this new translation, Heaney employs the same deft handling of the original combined with the immediacy of language and flawless poetic voice as was on show in his translation of Beowulf, a reimagining which, in the words of Bernard O'Donoghue, brought the ancient poem back to life in 'a miraculous mix of the poem's original spirit and Heaney's voice'.

Der Nobelpreisträger Seamus Heaney ist der vielleicht bedeutendste Lyriker Großbritanniens. Doch seine Gedichte sind frei von großen Gesten. In ihrer überraschenden Musikalität hört man den Dialekt seiner nordirischen Herkunft. Ihre Humanität entspringt der Aufmerksamkeit für das Werk der Hände – es sind Momentaufnahmen aus einer sich wandelnden Welt, deren Geschwindigkeit man nur ermessen kann, wenn man auch ruhende Objekte zulässt.

Seamus Heaney had the idea to form a personal selection of poems from across the entire arc of his writing life, small yet comprehensive enough to serve as an introduction for all comers. But now, finally, the project has been returned to, resulting in an intimate gathering of poems chosen and introduced by the Heaney family.

The collection features 123 diverse poems that capture the essence of medieval England, reflecting voices ranging from sailors and wives to saints and farmers. It encompasses themes of battle, adventure, heartache, and longing, alongside playful innuendo and practical charms. Additionally, readers will find seven intriguing riddles, enriching the portrayal of the era. This anthology complements the narrative of Beowulf, offering a multifaceted glimpse into the lives and emotions of its time.

»Der irische Schriftsteller Seamus Heaney ist, wie Joyce, Yeats, Beckett und andere vor ihm, eine literarische Stimme für die Welt.« DIE ZEIT

New Selected Poems 1988-2013 offers the poems that Heaney himself selected from his collections Seeing Things, The Spirit Level, Beowulf, Electric Light, District and Circle and Human Chain.