A Great Night for Poetry
"It was a great night for poetry. I thought that it really - to use Heaney's own words - 'credited poetry,' and I think that's probably the main thing people took away from the reading. They were excited, not just about his poems, but about the importance of poetry in modern life," said English professor John Desmond. "Poetry does matter."
In his presentation before a full house at Cordiner Hall, Seamus Heaney touched often on the theme of family, reading poems about his wife, brother, children, and dog.
Many students said they came away from the reading more inspired to write. "It gets people interested in writing. In a sense, they want to carry on, and now at Whitman there's much more opportunity for writing than there used to be," said Professor Desmond, who planned and coordinated the event.
Creative writing professor Katrina Roberts, who studied under Heaney as a student at Harvard, agreed. "I think Seamus lets those who don't feel like writers understand the joy of writing. He lets them feel what it is to be a moved reader. Generally, hearing his work aloud, especially in the rolling cadences of his own voice, I'm moved to write."
Poet Tess Gallagher, the 1996-97 Edward F. Arnold Visiting Professor at Whitman, came to the reading from Port Angeles. "One of the great pleasures of Seamus Heaney's poetry is how the language reverberates all the way back to its Celtic origins, yet has great clarity in the present moment," said Gallagher.
Heaney left a large impression on many students as well, both English and non-English majors. Senior Eric Odegard, an English major from Spokane, said, "It was great to hear the poems I have studied for four years brought to life. It was an inspiring night, one I won't soon forget." Junior Shane Dennis, a physics major from Montana, agreed. "It was great. I want to read more of his poetry and write some of my own."
