{Collection Spotlight #1} Death of a Naturalist by Seamus Heaney

Simple-ish but interesting poems about life on rural Ireland and the role of poetry in society in its most quotidian sense. 

Linked to the entry on imagery, this debut collection by one of Ireland's most broadly read poets is a great example of accesible poetic craftsmanship that relies on evocative concrete images to express broader/deeper emotion. Like Wordsworth, Heaney's relevance is acknowledged but somehow not academically enjoyed as much as other heavyweights (in Heaney's case, he is overshadowed by his much more bombastic predecessor, W.B. Yeats), and like him, he can come across as quaint in the face of grandiose and ambitious poetic innovation. 

Heaney's aesthetic, however, is less about epic heroism and more about contemplative, keen observation rooted in deep appreciation of the simple life of rural Ireland, and an acknowledgement of its tension with the urbanizing project spreading from Dublin and across the island. All this wrapped around great use of form and rhythm, as well as layered (deceptive) simplicity that I personally really enjoy.

All of these elements are already present int this, his debut collection. Most poems are filled with concrete images, that can be enjoyed on a surface level, or can serve as a way of getting at more complex emotions and intertextual relations with Ireland's past and present (unsurprisingly, classical allusions are a-plenty; these University educated poets liked their Classics).  The title already says it all: there is an inherent desire of the poet to be a "naturalist", an objective and acute observer, yet there is an impossibility in that endeavor, hence his "death".

So if you're on the lookout for a nostalgic nature-focused collection that also touches upon the act of writing itself and the mixed emotions experienced when emigrating from country to city, give my man Heaney a chance.