Poem of the Week: ‘The Ministry of Fear’ by Seamus Heaney
21 July 2025
Our Poem of the Week is ‘The Ministry of Fear’ by Seamus Heaney, from North, his seminal 1975 collection, which refracts the troubled history of Ireland through a broader account of the histories, myths and peoples of Northern Europe.
Copyright © The Estate of Seamus Heaney, 1975. Used by permission of Faber & Faber Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Seamus Heaney
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This edition of Seamus Heaney’s seminal fourth collection North, reproduced in its elegant first setting and original jacket, marks fifty years since first publication.