A great man has passed.
That leaves me unutterably sad.
Sure, the world is a poorer place tonight for his passing.
…but so much richer for his gifts.
Solas síoraí, Seamus.
"
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.
"
I had the pleasure and honor of meeting him, hearing him read his poetry and talk about writing when he was a guest writer at Wofford College, a small liberal arts college in my home town of Spartanburg, SC nearly thirty years ago:
http://www.wofford.edu/creativewriting/content.aspx?id=10976
I recall how kind he seemed and eager to share his wisdom with everyone there.
May God grant him memory eternal!
[Copying this thread to the Pub.]
this is uilleann pipes related
remind the poet and the piper,
one of my best cd’s
to the pub?
be aware
Not exclusively so. Heaney’s passing will doubtless be sad news for any who admire his work which went well beyond his worthy collaboration with O’Flynn, so sharing it is only right.
Telling stories is the best way to remember a man, so if you’ll indulge me, a few words on why Heaney was important to me. I never met him. Saw him once at Boston College in his duffelcoat with the wooden toggle buttons. But I did talk about him when I wrote about Chris Langan. Re-reading the diss, Seamus is all over the place. This will suffice I hope:
Seamus Heaney evokes the connectedness of language, place, history and community by hearing the sound of the river of his own home place, the Moyola, as the sound of a chanter:
The tawny guttural water
spells itself: Moyola
Is its own score and consort,
bedding the locale
in the utterance,
reed music, an old chanter
breathing its mists
through vowels and history.
A swollen river
a mating call of sound
rises to pleasure me, Dives,
hoarder of common ground.
Seamus Heaney, Gifts of Rain IV
The poet here is an unrepentant Dives, rich not from hoarding earthly goods (see Luke 16:19-31) but the earth itself. Heaney’s poetic language is the hoarder here, but it is difficult, having examined how the sound of the Uilleann pipes announces and evokes people, place, personality, memory and story, to imagine music as another such hoarder of common ground. In the context and the course of a pleasurable evening’s session in Chris [Langan]'s kitchen among members of the community that shared, understood and valued that common ground, that hoard became a gift freely shared. The hoard was remapped and reminded, retouched and resounded, the community re-minded and re-member end, and left remade, reimagined and replenished.
RTE covered the funeral in Donnybrook church live this morning. Not sure it will be available outside Ireland but it’s here.
Neil Martin and Liam O Flynn were the principal musicians at the service so there’s a bit of piping, Taimse in choladh’, Buachaill Caol Dubh, Seán Ó Duibhir a Gleanna, Mo Ghile Mear, Port na bPucai and a few more I can’t immediately think of now.
Around 80,000 stood up and clapped and cheered in his honour for three minutes at the All Ireland Gaelic football semi-final on Sunday between Dublin and Kerry.
Full story here: http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/02/seamus-heaney-last-words-funeral
Peace, Seamus. And thank you.
Truly a creative giant is gone. He will be sorely missed!
“The Poet and the Piper” with Seamus and Liam O’Flynn is a favourite of mine. Very comforting.
I watched the videos of the service, Very touching. I especially was moved by his last words to his wife.
I heard Liam playing Mo Ghile Mear as they proceeded out the church. Anyone know what tune he was playing earlier during the service?
Cheers! Richard
See Peter’s post, above