{"product_id":"opened-ground-selected-poems-1966-1996-paperback","title":"Seamus Heaney: Opened Ground - Selected Poems 1966-1996","description":"\u003cp\u003eWhat does it mean to dig into language, memory, and the earth itself? Seamus Heaney's \u003cem\u003eOpened Ground: Selected Poems 1966-1996\u003c\/em\u003e presents the essential work of the Nobel Prize-winning poet whom Robert Lowell praised as \"the most important Irish poet since Yeats.\" This comprehensive selection, chosen by Heaney himself, gathers the finest poems from his twelve previous books, revealing three decades of extraordinary achievement by one of the twentieth century's greatest poets. Heaney's poetry explores the Irish landscape and its troubled history, childhood memory and adult understanding, the craft of poetry and the weight of tradition, with a voice that is \"by turns mythological and journalistic, rural and sophisticated, reminiscent and impatient, stern and yielding\" (Helen Vendler). His work combines earthy physicality with lyrical beauty, creating verse of profound musicality and moral depth.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis one-volume testament includes essential poems from landmark collections such as \u003cem\u003eDeath of a Naturalist\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eNorth\u003c\/em\u003e (with the celebrated Bog Poems), \u003cem\u003eField Work\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eStation Island\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eThe Haw Lantern\u003c\/em\u003e, and \u003cem\u003eSeeing Things\u003c\/em\u003e, as well as new sequences from his translations \u003cem\u003eThe Cure at Troy\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSweeney Astray\u003c\/em\u003e, and previously uncollected poems. The book closes with Heaney's Nobel Lecture, \"Crediting Poetry,\" a profound meditation on poetry's power and responsibility. Heaney's voice is unmistakable: he writes with precise observation and musical language, digging into the soil of Ireland, memory, and language itself to unearth truths about history, identity, craft, and the examined life.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFor contemplative readers, Heaney's poetry offers profound meditation on place, memory, history, and the examined life. His work asks: What is the relationship between personal memory and collective history? How does language connect us to the earth and to the past? What is poetry's role in a troubled world? How do we honor tradition while forging our own path? Heaney's verse becomes a companion for mindful living—teaching attention to the physical world, respect for craft and tradition, courage to confront difficult history, and the conviction that poetry can credit and redeem human experience.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat You'll Discover\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHeaney's essential poems from 1966-1996, selected by the poet himself\u003cbr\u003eWork from twelve collections including the celebrated Bog Poems from \u003cem\u003eNorth\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSequences from landmark translations \u003cem\u003eThe Cure at Troy\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSweeney Astray\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePreviously uncollected poems and Heaney's Nobel Lecture \"Crediting Poetry\"\u003cbr\u003ePoems on Irish landscape and history, memory, craft, and the examined life\u003cbr\u003eContemplative insights into place, tradition, language, and moral responsibility\u003cbr\u003eNobel Prize winner praised as the most important Irish poet since Yeats\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSeamus Heaney (1939-2013)\u003c\/strong\u003e was born in County Derry, Northern Ireland, and became one of the most celebrated poets of the twentieth century. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 \"for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past.\" His poetry explores the Irish landscape, the Troubles, childhood on a farm, the craft of writing, and the relationship between personal experience and historical forces. He was also a distinguished translator (his \u003cem\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/em\u003e won the Whitbread Prize) and essayist. His work combines precise observation with musical language, earthy physicality with lyrical beauty, creating poetry that is both deeply rooted in Irish soil and universally resonant. He remains one of the most beloved and influential poets in the English language.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePerfect for:\u003c\/strong\u003e Readers of British and Irish poetry, students of Seamus Heaney and contemporary poetry, contemplative readers exploring place and memory, those interested in Irish history and landscape, anyone drawn to musical, earthy verse, readers of poetry about craft, tradition, and moral responsibility, students of Nobel Prize-winning literature, admirers of poetry that combines lyrical beauty with ethical depth and transforms personal experience into universal meditation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePaperback edition. Heaney's essential selected poems 1966-1996—offering contemplative wisdom on place, memory, and craft through the musical, earthy voice of the Nobel Prize-winning poet praised as the most important Irish poet since Yeats.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Mercelia Rose","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46590330863747,"sku":"9780374526788","price":18.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0695\/1583\/7571\/files\/opened_ground_selected_poems_1966-1996_seamus_heaney_winner_of_the_nobel_prize_in_literature_book_cover.webp?v=1772293671","url":"https:\/\/www.merceliarose.com\/products\/opened-ground-selected-poems-1966-1996-paperback","provider":"Mercelia Rose","version":"1.0","type":"link"}