We are delighted to announce a major new exhibition from the National Library of Ireland devoted to the life and work of Seamus Heaney, opening in Dublin in summer 2018. 'Listen Now Again' will be the inaugural exhibition at a major new cultural space located in the historic surroundings of Bank of Ireland on College Green.
Drawing on Seamus Heaney's archive of manuscripts, notebooks and literary papers – donated by the poet and his family to the NLI in 2011 – this landmark exhibition will give everyone from schoolchildren to scholars to newcomers to Heaney's work the chance to observe the poet's creative process first hand. The title is drawn from the closing line of Seamus Heaney's poem 'The Rainstick'.
The exhibition is curated by Professor Geraldine Higgins, who knew Heaney personally and has previously put together another exhibition of his work at Emory University in Atlanta. Professor Higgins has written a piece describing the process of working with the poet's manuscripts, combined with her memories of the man - read on our News and Articles page.
For more information on 'Listen Now Again', visit www.nli.ie.
Throughout 2019, the year that would have marked Seamus Heaney’s 80th birthday, poet and translator Marco Sonzogni will celebrate Heaney’s work with a series of pieces based on the sounds in his poetry. Here, he starts at the beginning, with ‘Death of a Naturalist’, the title poem of the first collection, and a memory of his own.