[.ca] Opened Ground Poems 1966 To 1996 (ISBN 0571194931)

From Amazon.com:
For Seamus Heaney, "opened ground" is a necessity--a way of getting to the root of things. The book bearing that name spans three decades, beginning with "Digging," his exhilarating portrait of the artist as a young revolutionary. "Between my finger and my thumb / The squat pen rests; snug as a gun," Heaney boasts (although by the end of the poem, his weapon has metamorphosed into something closer to the spade his grandfather and father once relied upon). The last entry, the sonnet "Postscript," appears some 400 pages later, which makes Opened Ground a capacious selection of his work. But at this point Heaney requires the largest of hold-alls. There are beautiful, pastoral lyrics here, sequences such as "Glanmore Sonnets" and "Clearances," and a multitude of love poems, not solely to his wife but to his parents and children. And in Heaney's hands, small domestic moments and objects--a scrabble board, a swing, a kite, a bed sawn in half to get it downstairs--invariably become both reality and soaring myth. At the same time, his Ireland is the site of "neighborly murders," and the past and larger world he confronts is one threatened by history and brutal sectarianism. Heaney has declared, "Fear is the emotion that the muse thrives on. That's always there"--and terror is pervasive in his "land of password, handgrip, wink and nod, / Of open minds as open as a trap." Many of his poems that explore the Troubles reflect his own considerable concern that he has long "confused evasion and artistic tact." Others might be termed self-reflexive, since Heaney uses them to unearth his own role. "Kinship" features a simple, brilliant (not to mention canine!) simile: I step through origins like a dog turning its memories of wilderness on the kitchen mat. In a later poem, "From the Frontier of Writing," he compares the struggle for inspiration to being stopped at a roadblock: "And everything is pure interrogation / until a rifle motions you and you move / with guarded unconcerned acceleration." Heaney's gift is dazzling, and would be almost unbearable were it not matched by vigilance, self-doubt, and regret--and his longing for the day in which "justice can rise up / And hope and history rhyme." --Kerry Fried

tweed peat moss and everything sordid and brown:
O Seamus, have you no better way of versifying? truly a mess of intricate disorderings Why is this clown so popular? Must be the neo-Hibernianism that has--um--"taken root" so insidiously at many of our nation's finest institutions. If you like earthy tone poems with telegraphed "wit" go forth and allow Heaney's snarky charm to plant you on your muddy feet. I prefer something more elevated and sly in its design. Yes, yes, he's a major member of the Canon. I don't dispute his Talent. But how anyone warms to this pint-and-a-plow nonsense is beyond me.

Stepping through the bog:
Seamus Heaney writes of the Ireland he knows. There are poems of bogs where he digs in with his pen, such as the image of "The Tollund Man" found dead in the bog, or Strange Fruit with "Her eyeholes blank as pools in the old workings". There are Irish scenes of the lough (lakes) and the corncrake. The poems span 30 years, and the British-Irish fighting in the 1970's is reflected in some sad memories. These poems have a universal appeal and in his included Nobel lecture he states, "I have already begun a journey into the wideness of the world". I would agree with one reviewer who notes a medieval tone and there is a certain solemnity: "Read poems as prayers", he states in the longer poem Station Island. You can hear him read some of these poems in the audiotape "Stepping Stones."

Master of the 'Squat Pen':
Heaney is clearly one of the most important literary figures in the world. He is perhaps even the most important writer from Great Britain since Yeats. It's nice to know that an Irishman who speaks for all citizens of the world has been most deservedly honored with a Nobel Prize. Heaney is a word-smith. For example, "The Forge" is a sonnet that embraces the scope of poetic creativity and power: "All I know is a door into the dark...." Heaney's work is uncompromising and unparalleled in its depth. It can be justly compared to Milosz, or even a Yeats. Heaney is introspective, careful, and most importantly, sincere. Every word on the page counts; every word reverberates and shimmers with life, death, and modest negotations with an often hostile political landscape. His poetic vision is transcendental. This anthology includes Heaney's Nobel Prize Speech: "Crediting Poetry," which is incredibly beautiful and thought-provoking. Some of my favorite poetic images are included here, involving blackberries, frogs, funerals, marital meditations, early morning military manuevers, potato peeling, and a mother ironing.... I highly recommend this anthology. It is beautiful and exciting; Heaney's verse will raise the hair on the back of your neck, as well as electrify your soul.

Interesting Modern Poetry:
I came to this book as a part of a class on Irish literature, and I"ve reviewd some other modern Irish literature listed here. Heaney is an intelligent, interesting poet who offers his reader history and politics in beautifully descriptive language. I would recommend this, espeically if you enjoy picking appart poetry and going a step further to find the history behind it.

A Tongue of Decades:
Seamus Heaney's collection _Opened_Ground_ is a rambling jaunt through 30 years of his best-loved works. Many well-known poems are found throughout along with several soon-to-be favorites. This volume also contains his Nobel lecture, "Crediting Poetry," a must read for poets, poetry-lovers, or the just plain literate. Seamus Heaney is a poet of universal voice and local concern.