Seamus Heaney || Harvard University Commencement 2012

Seamus Heaney was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1995. He was teaching at Harvard that year, as he had been, one way or another, since 1979.

May 24 — bluff and kind and 73 — Heaney was back at Harvard, on hand from Dublin to read a poem at Morning Exercises. As Harvard celebrates its 375th anniversary, he will reprise his 1986 "Villanelle for an Anniversary," composed for the University's 350th.

[valross]

The use of "founder" is so brilliant and hits so hard.

[jherlan]

I'm an old Yalie, class of '53, but I found this all very moving. Happy for my Cantab pals.

[billhaywood]

i went to harvard it is a gruesome place

[mortschubert]

For aught we know, they could be singing in Slovak about carrots and measles.

[jonathancorr]

I love this poem by Seamus Heaney and I thought the choir had beautiful voices but it did not seem right through song in my opinion!