A Song For Seamus Heaney

[J. Raymond Carroll]

The Dubliners- Finnegan's Wake

A Song for Seamus Heaney,

Ireland's most beloved poet.

https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=632&q=seamus+heaney&oq=seamus+heaney&gs_l=img.12..0i3j0l9.2055.6080.0.9633.13.10.0.3.3.0.155.750.9j1.10.0....0...1ac.1.26.img..0.13.799.b5vX2jvXRmU

Famous Seamus foresaw

PRAYER MAN

History says, Don’t hope
On this side of the grave.
But then, once in a lifetime
The longed-for tidal wave
Of justice can rise up
And hope and history rhyme.
Seamus Heaney

Famous Seamus will have a lively wake in Dublin,

and I expect a full report from Sean,
where they will sing the poet's favorite songs,
by his favorite Dublineers.

.

► 2:29► 2:29

Edited September 10, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[James R Gordon]

Raymond,

Thank you for that. Seamus Heaney was my favourite 20th century/21st century poet.

I am a bit shocked he is dead. I had not been aware he had been ill for a while.

I know he had an extensive vision and view, but my favourite are his Mossbawn poems.

It will be a while before we see his likes again.

James.

Edited September 1, 2013 by James R Gordon

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Raymond,

Thank you for that. Seamus Heaney

Was my favourite 20th century/21st century Poet

I am a bit shocked he is dead

I had not been aware he had been ill for a while

I know he had an extensive vision and view

But my favourite are his Mossbawn poems

It will be a while before we see his likes again

James

Good to meet you James.

I have a complete collection of his earlier work

But since I started working on this case

Poetry took a back seat.

From reading this beautiful Times Obituary

I get the sense that his later work

is sensational

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/31/arts/seamus-heaney-acclaimed-irish-poet-dies-at-74.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1378015694-PduMQt2IXdouqesfl2FCRg

The JFK inquirer has much common ground

with the poet

According to Famous Seamus:

The poet is on the side

of undeceiving

the world

It means being vigilant

in the public realm But you can go further still and say that poetry tries to help you be

a truer, purer, wholer being.

Edited September 10, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

August 30, 2013, 6:44 pm 4 Comments

Another Kind of Music By PAUL SIMON Sounds Of Silence

Press Association, via Associate

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fWyzwo1xg0

Seamus Heaney in 1970.

I was in the audience

At the Abbey Theater

in Dublin

On June 9, 1991

When

Seamus Heaney

Read

From his new

Book of Poems

Seeing Things

I know the exact date

Because Seamus

kindly inscribed

His book

for me

And dated it

But I wouldn’t

have forgotten

That night

With or without

The Month and Year

Seamus gave

a mesmerizing

Witty and emotional

performance

And it was a rare

opportunity

for me

To Hear

The sound

of his words

Spoken

In

their true

accent

Popular culture

likes to house

Songwriters and poets

Under the same roof

But we are not the close family

That some imagine

Poets

are distant cousins

at most

And labor

under

A distinctly different

set of rules

Songwriters have melody

Instrumentation and rhythm

To color their work

And give it power

Poets accomplish it all

With Words

Seamus

Was one of those rare poets

Whose writing evokes music

The fiddles

Pipes

and pennywhistles

Of his Northern

Irish culture

And upbringing

You can hear it

in

Casting and Gathering

Years and years ago these sounds took sides

On the left bank a green silk tapered cast
Went whispering through the air saying hush
And lush, entirely free, no matter whether
It swished above the hayfield or the river

And later in the poem

One sound is saying

You are not worth tuppence
But neither is anybody.

Watch it!

Be severe

The other says,

Go with it!

Give and swerve
You are everything you feel

beside the river

I love this poem

And return to it

from time to time

To hear the

hush and lush

Of the fishermen

Casting their rods

from opposite banks

like politicians across

the Senate aisle

And I like

the friendly pep talk

Seamus gives himself

when self-criticism

is about

to get

The best

of him

It’s frustrating

To try

to capture

Even a glimpse

of the man

His verbal

virtuosity

His wit

And Irish charm

Recovering from

a stroke

In the

hospital

he greeted his friend

and fellow poet

Paul Muldoon

with

Hello Paul

different strokes

for different folks

I admire

the directness

And simplicity

of his work

A virtue

most writers

aspire to

But rarely

achieve

Seamus

and I met

Through

our mutual friend

Derek Walcott

I visited him

In his home

In Dublin

And continued

Our conversations

At my place

In Manhattan

Obviously

I’m a fan

even more

Of the man

Than the Poetry

Though

there are

Few Poets

I would rank

As His Equal

Paul Simon

Is a singer

and

songwriter

who needs

an editor

Though

He already

writes well

Edited September 13, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

http://www.irishtimes.com/comfort-is-best-found-in-seamus-heaney-s-poems-1.1511342

COMFORT

IS BEST FOUND

IN SEAMUS HEANEY'S

POEMS

Everyone is devastated

He made poetry sexy again

It is all about DELIGHT

And how to live your life

Edited September 13, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

[T]here are few poets I would rank as his equal.

Paul Simon.

Wordsworth,

Yeats, Shelley, Byron,

Frost, Whitman Longfellow,

Shakespeare........

Who did I leave out?

Paul Simon asked me

to correct

an error

in his

TImes blog:

He wants me to make clear

that he was speaking

only

about

the

English language.

Edited September 13, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Seamus Heaney was my favourite 20th century/21st century poet.

I am a bit shocked he is dead.

Here is the voice of Famous Seamus,

talking about Patrick Kavanagh:

http://www.rte.ie/archives/exhibitions/1323-patrick-kavanagh/1325-portrait/335400-on-death-of-patrick-kavanagh/

It would never be morning, always evening,

Golden sunset, golden age - When Shakespeare,

Marlowe and Jonson were writing

The future of England page by page, ...

All I could find of Kavanagh's

In Memory of Brother Michael.

Edited September 1, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Former US president Bill Clinton praised Seamus Heaney

Our Finest Poet

Of the Rhythms of Ordinary Lives

And

A

Powerful Voice for Peace

In a Tribute Tonight.

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/clinton-hails-poet-seamus-heaney-29540214.html

I suppose Wild Bill

could be called

the poet

who

never inhaled

but no one

can ever deny

that Wild Bill brought

Peace

in The Land

Seamus Heaney

loved So Well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH8fuEcNubs

Edited September 13, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Seamus would want his wake

to be merry

with songs like this one

about hard-working,

hard-drinking

humorous lads,

like McALpine's Fusiliers:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkuuAGr22jk

Edited September 10, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

In Memoriam

Seamus Heaney

My Passport

is Green

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHsmkpWi20I

Edited September 10, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_4SjqZcJ8c

Seamus Heaney,

John F. Kennedy

And myself

All love

Tommy Makem

And

the Clancy Boys From

Tipperary

My native Place

Edited September 13, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Carrying the sacred body

of our most Sacred Poet:

Edited September 3, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

duplicate

Edited September 2, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

I hope my kids are reading this

because I want this song played

at my funeral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1se8_-fcxZs&feature=endscreen

Just like the great man himself.

https://www.google.com/search?site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1366&bih=632&q=seamus+heaney&oq=seamus+heaney&gs_l=img.3..0i3j0l6j0i5j0i24l2.2437.6279.0.7465.13.13.0.0.0.0.79.791.13.13.0....0...1ac.1.26.img..0.13.786.4s9pxJbX8qg

Edited September 10, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll

[J. Raymond Carroll]

Two Songs for Seamus

From 2 Famous Men

In Athens

Greece

Cradle

of Western

Civilization

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NC6n2Wfcu40

Edited September 11, 2013 by J. Raymond Carroll