Seamus Heaney

The theme for this year's 'Festival of Ideas' at the University of York is North and South which suited a visit from the Irish poet Seamus Heaney very well. I studied him at school and couldn't resist a rare chance to hear him talk and read some of his poetry.

During the question and answer session at the end one women told him that when she was at school his work was summed up to her by the two words - death and potatoes. She then asked him which two words he thought best described his work and he replied "sheer genius".