About this title: Heaney's new collection of poetry maintains his trust in the implacableness of workaday realities and the mystery of everyday renewals.
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Description: Very Good. Great condition for a used book! Minimal wear. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Description: Good. Former Library book. Shows some signs of wear, and may have some markings on the inside. Shipped to over one million happy customers. Your purchase benefits world literacy! read more
Edition: 1st
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date Published: 2007-04-03
ISBN-13:9780374530815ISBN:0374530815
Description: Like New. May be shiny, in some instances dust jackets are not included, no missing pages, no damage to binding, may have a remainder mark. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date Published: 2006
ISBN-13:9780374140922ISBN:0374140928
Description: Good. Used item may show library stamps, stickers and marks. Buy with confidence-your satisfaction is guaranteed at B-Logistics! Due to the large scale of our operation, we do not have access to the specific contents/condition of our items. Please note that Expedited shipping is not available at this time. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date Published: 2006-05-30
ISBN-13:9780374140922ISBN:0374140928
Description: Cheapest Shipping. 100% New! Shipped Same Day From NY, FL, WA, CA, CO to closest zip code and if in stock at that location.30 Day Money Back Guarantee. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Date Published: 5/30/2006
ISBN-13:9780374140922ISBN:0374140928
Description: Fine. 0374140928 Ships from PA, Return within 15 days for any reasons. Leaves warehouse within 24-48 hrs, thank you for your order. Remainder mark. Clean Copy. read more
"These are somewhat difficult poems to read at first. They are not difficult because of encyclopedic obscure references, like, say, Pound, or because of solipsistic personal references like, say, John Ashbury, or because of meterless syntactic and semantic experimentation like so much contemporary poetry. The syntax is strictly gramatic, but constantly requires and rewards your full attention, like a stony path. There are many obscure, but always concrete and evocative words, drawn mostly form the everyday language of insular early 20th century country life, like Hardy. You have to chew these poems, but they are wonderfully flavorful, human, vivid, moving, and thoughtful."
"Twenty years ago, I could understand about twenty percent of Heaney's poems at least enough to feel as though I "got" them. That was enough to make him a favorite. Ten years ago, I guess I was up to about thirty percent. With this latest collection, I'm closer to getting half of them, a happy surprise. I don't know if it's due to Heaney aging or me; I should go back to his earlier work to find out.
Always, I find him most accessible when he sticks to Anglo-Saxon words, as he often does. He has a sense of that language that allows him to convey a sense of touch that resonates immediately then reveals more and more on re-readings. The harder the words are, the more he seems to value them and the more he makes good use of them. From "To George Seferis in the Underworld":
And for me a chance to test the edge of seggans, dialect blade hoar and harder and more hand-to-hand than what is common usage nowadays: sedge -- marshmallow, rubber-dagger stuff.
In District and Circle, there is a lot of reflection on the past. Heaney also revisits some specific things from earlier works. "The Tollund Man in Springtime", which I'm not too sure about, is something of a companion to "The Tollund Man". The last poem here, "The Blackbird of Glanmore", takes him back to the subject of "Mid-Term Break"."
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