Irish poets who died in 2013 and epitaphs

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Nobel Prize winner in Literature, Irish poet Seamus Heaney He died on August 30, 2013.

I had met Seamus Heaney only a few times but knew him well enough to know not only his poetry but also his extraordinary personal gift.

He himself was as ordinary and simple as the son of a farmer in rural Delhi.

He has a sharp mind, of course, but unlike most poets he is not pretentious and does not seek to confuse rather than explain.

In 2015, his parting epitaph was unveiled on his tombstone in Delhi and I am proud to point out We publish exclusively.

This song is perfect for this man: “Against your better judgment, keep going”

Pacemaker Belfast A new headstone is erected on the grave of Seamus Heaney in St Mary’s churchyard in Belgravia, 14 August 2015. Photo credit: Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press

Publisher: BBC Newsline exist Friday, August 14, 2015

This is his life, a farmer’s son from a war-torn area, who won Nobel Prize in Literature And keep believing in miracles.

He explained the words that would become his epitaph. harvard crimson 2008: “People in Northern Ireland are naturally cautious. You are brought up on guard because it is a divided society.”

“In general, my poetry was close to the earth, but then I started looking up instead of down. I think it had to do with a sense that the fantastic was just as acceptable in poetry as the matter-of-fact.

“That line comes from a poem called ‘Gravel Walk,’ which is about heavy work—pushing a gravel cart—but also that paradoxical feeling of lightness when you lift something heavy. I like the feeling between up and down, between the earth and heaven. I think that’s where poetry should stay, between the dream world and the established world, because you don’t just want photography, you don’t want fantasy either.”

I also think that these lines express his amazement at the success of the peace process in his benighted region, even though everyone expected it to fail.

My conversations with him always came back to this point, that an intractable war, terrible killings, seemingly unsolvable problems were all overcome in the name of peace.

For pessimists, achieving peace requires, in many ways, a marvel of imagination.

I attended Heaney’s memorial service at Donnybrook Church near my home in Dublin in August 2013. It was amazing to see so many ordinary people turning out, not just the literati and high society types.

Ordinary Irish people also embrace him in a unique way – I don’t think any other Irish writer has received such respect. He has always been Seamus, not Mr Heaney.

The scene in the church that evening was very moving.

Today, he leaves us with his final words, encouraging and exhorting us, as always, to dream.

Believe in the marvelous, the impossible, the unattainable, as he did all his life. And he did.

He was truly an inspirational figure and still is.