Book of the Month: November 2024

Between my finger and my thumb
The squat pen rests.
I’ll dig with it.

(Digging by Seamus Heaney, lines 29-31)

It feels fitting to start A42’s monthly reading recommendation with a collection of poems by Seamus Heaney. Heaney’s upbringing in Northern Island shaped his work, which weaves together themes of life, nature, and history through the connection with daily experiences.

Heaney is widely considered one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995 “for works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past.”

Heaney taught at Harvard and also received an honorary degree from Bates College in Maine. One of his most famous works is his translation of Beowulf. In doing so, he hoped that a “linguistic anchor would stay lodged on the Anglo-Saxon sea floor.” (For any Lincoln Academy graduates, you can remember that Beowulf had a beloved place in Mike’s sophomore English class.)

100 Poems is an anthology of Heaney’s work that was published posthumously by his family. It is a fantastic introduction to Heaney’s writing and a collection that draws you to its pages time and time again for reflection on and illumination of the everyday enchantment that shapes us all.

Find 100 Poems at your local bookstore or order 100 Poems online at Barnes and Noble or on Amazon.