Front Row - 100 Poems by Seamus Heaney, Jesse Jones, Ulysses at the Abbey Theatre

100 Poems by Seamus Heaney, Jesse Jones, Ulysses at the Abbey Theatre

Download 100 Poems by Seamus Heaney, Jesse Jones, Ulysses at the Abbey Theatre

Live from Dublin, Seamus Heaney's wife and daughter, Marie and Catherine Heaney, talk to the writer Sinéad Gleeson about 100 Poems, a selection of the poet's work chosen by his family. The book runs the gamut of Heaney's writing life, yet is a personal collection, with poems of love for his wife, children and grandchildren, his parents and relatives.

A favourite of Seamus Heaney's poems is The Rain Stick which ends with the words, "Listen now again." That's the title of a new exhibition which draws on the huge archive which Heaney donated to the National Library of Ireland in 2011. Curator Geraldine Higgins leads Sinéad through the manuscripts, unpublished pieces, diary entries, notebooks and letters that trace the development of the Nobel Laureate's career. The permanent exhibition continues at the Bank of Ireland Cultural and Heritage Centre on College Green, Dublin.

Jesse Jones threw a spotlight on feminism and women's issues with her work Tremble Tremble when she represented Ireland at the 57th Venice Biennale last year. The film and performance artist talks about creating the multi-media installation which re-imagines feminist history and law.

Dermot Bolger's stage version of James Joyce's Ulysses is currently playing at Dublin's Abbey Theatre. The novelist, playwright and poet reflects on the daunting task of putting the greatest modernist work in the world on the stage.

Presenter: Sinéad Gleeson
Producer: Julian May.

Published on Friday, 6th July 2018.

Available Podcasts from Front Row

Subscribe to Front Row

We are not the BBC, we only list available podcasts. To find out more about the programme including episodes available on BBC iPlayer, go to the Front Row webpage.