So long for air to brighten,

Time to be dazzled and the heart to lighten.

‘Fosterling’

While never directly religious in his poetry, Seamus Heaney’s Catholic upbringing conferred a deep sense of the spiritual on his work. Artistic freedom whereby the ordinary is rendered extraordinary, and the everyday becomes the marvellous, found its fullest expression after the intense sectarian strife of Northern Ireland in the 1970s and 80s. As he says, Heaney had to wait until he was “nearly fifty/To credit marvels.” Considering three volumes, Seeing Things (1991), The Spirit Level (1995), and his final one, Human Chain (2010), this study morning will revel in Heaney’s exhilarating entry into the beyond in poetic ‘markings’ that are full of “fleetness, furtherance, untiredness/In time that was extra, unforeseen and free.”

Equally open to those who are familiar with, or are new to, Heaney’s poetry, this study morning will resonate with anyone interested in how language can take us beyond ourselves.

Admission: £10 inc. materials and coffee

Brunch deal: £22 served from 130pm