Colm Tóibín has written that Seamus Heaney “was not merely a central figure in the literary life of Ireland, but in its emotional life, in its dream life, in its real life. His skill at playing with rhythm, pushing phrases and images as hard as they will go, offered the poems an undertone, a gravity—a space between the words that allowed them to soar or shiver.”
Tóibín, who adapted Heaney’s translations for our staged reading with acclaimed actor Ben Whishaw on Wednesday, May 3, shared some thoughts on Heaney’s genius.
92NY: When did you first encounter the poetry of Seamus Heaney?
Colm Tóibín: I was devouring poetry in my early teens so I would have seen individual poems by Seamus Heaney. Then I bought his first book Death of a Naturalist in the summer of 1969 and I loved the richness of the lines and the sense of place. And, like many other people, I bought all his books thereafter as soon as they came out. I also attended many of his readings in Dublin. A few times Seamus invited another writer to read with him — once it was Joseph Brodsky and once Derek Walcott.
When did you first meet him and what was your relationship like over the years?
Seamus Heaney was immensely cordial. When I was a student at University College Dublin, he came often to speak to student societies. In later years, we had a mutual friend who gave a Christmas party each year. A few of us stayed on late so we could sing songs and recite poems. Seamus never sang, but he did some great old-fashioned recitations.
Tell us how you went about making the script and what do you hope the audience gets out of the experience?
Seamus Heaney in interviews and essays wrote about his translations. So, I used as many quotations from his commentary as I could. And then I chose the poems that I thought would work best read aloud.
What do actors bring to a performance or a reading of poetry that authors do not? What makes Ben Whishaw right for this material?
This is simple: Ben Whishaw’s voice, his commitment to getting things right, his sensitivity to language, his presence.
You speak multiple foreign languages. What’s your experience with translation: either making translations yourself or working on translations of your own work into other languages?
I am a rotten translator. I once did an art book from Catalan to English, but my translation was only two thirds the length of the original. I tried to explain to the publisher that this was because the other one third was pure nonsense, but I got sent back to revise. With translators of my work, I leave them alone. Unless they want a single word — maybe a local word — explained, I have a policy not to bother them.
Has publishing your own collection of poetry changed your relationship to the work of favorite poets like Heaney?
I became more interested in Heaney’s second and third volumes, Door into the Dark and Wintering Out, especially his use of the short line in a three-line stanza.
Does doing a reading like this at a place like 92NY, where Heaney himself read so often and so brilliantly over the decades, as you yourself have, hold special meaning?
The 92nd Street Y is a rite of passage; it is one of the gates of heaven.
Ben Whishaw’s reading of Seamus Heaney’s Translations takes place in person and online on Wednesday, May 3. Tickets are available here.