Seamus Heaney

Seamus Heaney (1939–2013) was an Irish poet, playwright, and translator, born in County Derry, Northern Ireland. He emerged as a major literary voice with his first collection, *Death of a Naturalist* (1966), whose vivid rural imagery and linguistic precision helped define his early reputation. Over a long career he published influential poetry that engaged with memory, place, politics, and the moral pressures of history. Heaney also produced acclaimed translations, notably his version of *Beowulf* (1999). Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995, he taught at universities in Ireland and the United States and became one of the most widely read poets of his time.