Hi. I am teaching Language Arts to students in Bangalore, India. I have one student that has taken up A Level Literature and has chosen Seamus Heaney's selection of poems in District and Circle as part of her course. As much as I enjoy poetry, I find his particular brand very complex, especially when it comes to teaching it to someone who has never been to England, let alone Ireland. And the student is obviously oblivious to the sectarian conflicts that engulf many of his poems. My question is whether anyone has face similar difficulties and whether you have been rescued by a particular book or website that has helped to analyse his poems thoroughly. I have visited the fawbie.com site, but I feel their explanations are insufficient and far too general to be effective for teaching purposes. Thanks. Adrian.

Seamus Heaney, by Blake Morrison?
Many used copies on Amazon starting under a dollar. Shipping to India shouldn't be much.

Seamus Heaney, by Blake Morrison?
Many used copies on Amazon starting under a dollar. Shipping to India shouldn't be much.
No, I'm afraid I am referring to the Irish poet, Seamus Heaney, and his collection of poems entitled 'District and Circle'. But thanks for the input. Cheers.

Seamus Heaney, by Blake Morrison?
Many used copies on Amazon starting under a dollar. Shipping to India shouldn't be much.
joypulv has given you good advice --

"In recent years Seamus Heaney has earned the reputation of being `the most important Irish poet since Yeats'. Blake Morrison, in the first serious study of his career to date, identifies the central characteristics of his achievement, uncovering the sources of his poems, placing his work within both Irish and Anglo-American traditions and explaining his poetry's complex relation to the current political troubles in Northern Ireland. A lively, personal account by a writer who is himself a poet and critic, this book challenges some of the myths surrounding Heaney's work and places it in proper perspective."

Seamus Heaney (Contemporary writers): Blake Morrison: 9780415098786: Amazon.com: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Seamus-Heaney-Contemporary-writers-Morrison/dp/0415098785)

It's a biography. I assume there is plenty of analysis too.

joypulv has given you good advice --

"In recent years Seamus Heaney has earned the reputation of being `the most important Irish poet since Yeats'. Blake Morrison, in the first serious study of his career to date, identifies the central characteristics of his achievement, uncovering the sources of his poems, placing his work within both Irish and Anglo-American traditions and explaining his poetry's complex relation to the current political troubles in Northern Ireland. A lively, personal account by a writer who is himself a poet and critic, this book challenges some of the myths surrounding Heaney's work and places it in proper perspective."

Seamus Heaney (Contemporary writers): Blake Morrison: 9780415098786: Amazon.com: Books (http://www.amazon.com/Seamus-Heaney-Contemporary-writers-Morrison/dp/0415098785)

Thanks so much. I have someone in Canada who can send me this book fairly quickly. Appreciate your help and assistance.

Gee...

Gee...
If only OPs would read... (And I'm getting wow reviews on your response to my foundation question. Hope you're getting greenies on it.)