The Night Of Other Days: The Life and Work of Poet Seamus Heaney

TITLE: The Night Of Other Days: The Life and Work of Poet Seamus Heaney
AUTHOR: Hugh Mulrooney
PUBLISHER: AuthorHouse UK
ASIN: B07H856ZYQ
PAGES: 270
GENRE: Non-Fiction

Seamus Heaney was a renowned Irish poet whose works was loved by many. His contribution to the literature world can’t be ignored, as he wrote classics. The Irish poet has over 20 books to his name. Popular plays by the poet include ‘The Cure at Troy’ and ‘The Burial at Thebes’. This book is a tribute to the good work of Seamus Heaney. His delightful poetry, beautiful prose and captivating plays highlighted in the book will have more readers appreciate his work.
I love that this book introduced me to great pieces of literature by Seamus Heaney, and made me value the role of literature in society. After reading the book, I got to understand why Seamus Heaney said ‘poetry isn’t so daunting, you shouldn’t be shy of it, you too, have a right of way into it and can enjoy it’. I could relate with his words, despite not having heard him verbally. The book is nicely divided into three parts which all tell the Irish poet’s work. On the first part, the reader is taken through Seamus’s early life, the death of his brother Christopher, how he coped, his education, his family and early work. Reading through the chapters gave me the same feeling I get when reading a memoir because.
Reading about Seamus’s father, Patrick made me want to get hold of ‘Death of a Naturalist’. The author mentioned how Seamus lived with his family in Mossbawn, County Derry, and I could imagine how tight the family was. Despite their humble background, Seamus enjoyed life in their traditionally thatched farmstead. I tried to visualize life in rural Ireland in the 1940s when the author wrote about Seamus Heaney’s early life. Seamus life got to be different from his father when he was appointed as a university lecturer in Belfast. Though life at the farm and life as a don had some difference, Seamus never stopped talking about and writing about his father. He adored his old man. Seamus cherished his mother too. Being the first born of her nine children, Seamus knew he was tasked with being the best of all.
This book simply reads like a biography. The amazing thing is that there are phrases and poetry verses the author included when writing about Seamus Heaney. By doing this, he made the reader yearn for the poet’s work. Seamus’s poetry was deep. I love that I enjoyed the few pieces as I learned about his life. The poet’s work is exemplary and above standard. I’m grateful that the author listed Seamus Heaney’s bibliography at the end of the book. This was a good idea because after reading the book, I felt the need to look for all of Seamus Heaney’s works. “The Night Of Other Days” is a good book. I felt inspired at the end and fully enjoyed reading about the poet’s life. I recommend this book to everyone who loves reading real-life stories and anyone who wants to be introduced to Seamus Heaney’s collection of literary works.