DFA Staff Pick: Seamus Heaney reads from ‘Death of a Naturalist’ (1966)
Date: 04/02/2022 00:00
Seamus Heaney is Ireland’s most celebrated contemporary poet, but back in 1966 he was just starting out on his literary career and was afraid of ‘messing it up’. He had just published ‘Death of a Naturalist’, a collection which included many of his soon to be best-known and often recited poems, including ‘Mid-Term Break’ and ‘Digging’. The interview appropriately takes place outdoors, by a river, perhaps one that Heaney had written about.
Charlie
Witherspoon interviews the young poet, explaining to the audience that ‘Death
of a Naturalist’ is not in fact a murder mystery, but a collection of poems.
Seamus seems friendly and down to earth as he talks about early influences on
his writing, and what made him choose to write poetry. He talks about his
ancestors from rural South Derry and considers how different their lives were
to his own. Their rural world is however a constant source of inspiration for the
young poet who has now settled to live and work in the city of Belfast.
Seamus then
reads his poem ‘Waterfall’ for the viewers. He employs ‘Sh’ sounds to recreate
the sound of rushing water. He also makes striking use of vernacular words,
like ‘burn’ and ‘slabber’ to establish the poem in its local setting. This is a very special clip that allows us to
see the poet talking about his work for the first time. He appears relaxed in
front of the camera and speaks with a quiet confidence, as he looks into
straight the camera as if speaking directly to the listener. Heaney comes
across as astonishingly modest about his achievements. He is of course is unaware that this first
collection will go on to win several literary prizes and will continue to be
read and enjoyed decades later.
Another clip of Heaney in the Digital Film Archive can be found here
Browse the rest of the Digital Film Archive here