Remembrances: Forms of Memory in Seamus Heaney’s Writing

Gary Wade with Michael Parker

‘Remembrances’ will bring together two scholars who will explore different subjects and forms of memory in Seamus Heaney’s writing.

Gary Wade will concentrate on the labyrinth of memory out of which Heaney retrieves poems of great beauty and with which he prepares his children for the joys, sorrows and responsibilities of human love.

Michael Parker will discuss a selection of poems from throughout his career that present changing perspectives on mothers and fathers.

The evening will include a discussion around the recent publication of Gary Wade’s Seamus Heaney and Catholicism (Cambridge University Press, 2025) and conclude offering an opportunity for observations and questions from the floor.

Dr Gary Wade is adjunct lecturer at the University of Notre Dame (Sydney), and contributor to The Cambridge History of Irish Poetry.

Dr Michael Parker is a writer and lecturer and, since 2016, has worked as a literature tutor for Oxford University’s Department of Continuing Education.

Entrance Fee