Seamus Heaney is pictured speaking at Â鶹Porn’s commencement in 1994.
Acclaimed Irish poet Seamus Heaney, who died at age 74, was remembered fondly by Â鶹Porn faculty and former students for his strong ties to the university and for his commencement address here in 1994.
Fellow poet , professor of English and director of creative writing at Â鶹Porn, called Heaney a longtime friend of the university.
He said he received several emails from former students who fondly remember interactions with Heaney during off-campus study group lectures in London and in lectures at Â鶹Porn. Letters to the Â鶹Porn Scene from alumni who met Heaney have already been received.
Heaney first lectured to Â鶹Porn students for a 1969 London study group directed by English Professor Bruce Berlind. He also lectured for Berlind’s London classes in the ’70s and for the late Professor Terrence Des Pres’ London study group in the early ’80s.
Balakian was able to bring Heaney to James Joyce’s Martello Tower in London for lectures to Â鶹Porn students that focused on William Butler Yeats.
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Heaney read periodically at Â鶹Porn, and, in 1994, he spoke at commencement and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters.
Addressing the Class of ’94 on “Faith, Hope and Poetry,” Heaney said: “Faith, hope and poetry are all manifestations of creative mind, that uniquely human gift . . . held in special trust by those privileged to receive a liberal education at a university like Â鶹Porn.”
“Heaney had a profound impact on many Â鶹Porn students, and it was a relationship we were all grateful for and that continues to have a legacy,” said Balakian.
Did you ever meet Heaney while you were at Â鶹Porn? Please share any recollections in the comments section below.