This book looks at how the poetry of Seamus Heaney, born of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, has encountered the 'historically-tested imaginations' of Czeslaw Milosz, Joseph Brodsky, Osip Mandelstam, and Zbigniew Herbert. It argues that East Europeans have made a strong impact on Heaney's work.
Introduction 1. Writing 'for the Joy of It': Seamus Heaney and Osip Mandelstam 2. Audenesque': Seamus Heaney and Joseph Brodsky 3. How to be a Responsible Poet: Czeslaw Milosz and Seamus Heaney 4. Keeper of Civilizations': Seamus Heaney and Zbigniew Herbert 5. Conclusion