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Summary
Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests; snug as a gun.
— from ‘Digging’
With its lyrical and descriptive powers, Death of a Naturalist, first published in 1966, marked the auspicious debut of one of the century’s finest poets.
‘His words give us the soil-reek of Ireland, the colourful violence of his childhood on a farm in Derry. The full-blooded energy of these poems makes Death of a Naturalist the best first book of poems I’ve read for some time.’ – C.B. Cox, Spectator
‘The power and precision of his best poems are a delight, and as a first collection Death of a Naturalist is outstanding […] His subject is those things which are inherent or inherited. What he praises is to be praised in his own work.’ – Christopher Ricks, New Statesman
SeamusHeaney
Seamus Heaney was born in County Derry in Northern Ireland. Death of a Naturalist, his first collection of poems, appeared in 1966, and was followed by poetry, criticism and translations which established him as the leading poet of his generation. In 1995 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, and twice won the Whitbread Book of the Year, for The Spirit…
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More books by Seamus Heaney
Our Poem of the Week is ‘Digging’ by Seamus Heaney, from the iconic Irish poet’s classic first collection, Death of …
Faber is delighted to announce the publication of The Poems of Seamus Heaney, edited by Rosie Lavan and Bernard O'Donoghue …
Our Poem of the Week is ‘Punishment’ from North, Seamus Heaney’s account of the people, history and landscape of Ireland.
Our Poem of the Week is ‘Digging’ by Seamus Heaney, from the iconic Irish poet’s classic first collection, Death of …
Our Poem of the Week is ‘Anahorish’ from Wintering Out, Seamus Heaney’s third collection of poetry.
This week, our Poem of the Week is Seamus Heaney's 'Song', from his 1979 collection, Field Work.
Looking for a book to curl up with by the fire? We asked Faber staff to tell us which books …
How do you write a city that hasn’t decided what it’s going to be next? In the latest of our …
Authors’ letters provide fascinating insights into the personalities and social context behind some of the greatest works of our time.
We asked Faber Members to send in their first encounters with the writing of Seamus Heaney and were thrilled with …
To mark the tenth anniversary of Seamus Heaney’s death and to celebrate his extraordinary legacy, we share a poem from …
As the summer holidays approach, we’re beginning to think about which books to pack for our holiday reading. The Faber …
Are you planning a summer getaway? Or not going away and looking for a bit of escapism? Browse our list …
For what would have been Seamus Heaney’s 83rd birthday, we asked our Faber colleagues to share their first or favourite …
Director Adam Low shares his diary for his BBC documentary 'Seamus Heaney and the Music of What Happens'
Faber is very pleased to announce the publication of a new work by Seamus Heaney, a verse translation of Aeneid: Book …