About the book
Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) was one of the most loved, read, studied and translated writers of our time. In 1995 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for ‘works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past’. In 1999 his version of the Old English poem Beowulf received the Whitbread Book Award for Best Book of Poems and Best Book of the Year.
“Heaney openly stated that he did not have a theory of translation but a metaphor for it ‘based upon the Viking relationship with the island of Ireland and the island of Britain’. ‘There was a historical period known as the Raids,’ he explained, ‘and then there was a period known as the Settlements.’ Similarly, Heaney chose to ‘raid’ or ‘settle’ another author’s work depending on the ‘writerly motive’ drawing him to that particular text and driving his response to it.”
— From the editors’ note
This collection of essays is the first comprehensive discussion of Heaney as translator. The authors have approached their contribution from different perspectives but are united by their fascination or preoccupation with the works of one of the greatest poets and poet-translators in the English language. This interdisciplinary combination of individual expertise and shared interest was essential to offer a holistic appreciation of Heaney’s translations from fifteen languages, literatures and cultures.
