Postcards From Heaney Country
National Library of Ireland & Department of Foreign Affairs
Listen Now Again
Postcards From Heaney Country is a short film that celebrates Seamus Heaney’s work and complements the Listen Now Again exhibition. It features four of Heaney’s poems and four distinct Irish voices: Stephen Rea, Jeanne Nicole Ní Ainle, Aislín McGuckin and Aaron Monaghan.
In 2018, the National Library of Ireland launched Seamus Heaney: Listen Now Again. The exhibition’s core idea is one Heaney prized—that the transformative power of language can help us engage with our world and surroundings.
Likewise, the film illustrates the transcendent power of the poet as each performer, moved by the power of Heaney’s words, slips the bounds of their ordinary every day off into some intense moment of pure imagination.
Postcards From Heaney Country was directed by Luna Director Duo and is accompanied by an original score by Irish composer and musician Seán Mac Erlaine. Wardrobe for the film was provided by a host of talented homegrown designers.
The film scooped a gold for best advertising in the prestigious Shark awards.
Context
Throughout the film, scenes are peppered with juxtapositions of the realities of our everyday lives with existential themes and the musicality surrounding us.
The poems – The Rain Stick, Glanmore Sonnet I, Tinder and Lightenings viii – were chosen from across Heaney’s career, each representing one of the four elements. As well as one longer film, four separate films were created. We also edited together a teaser film, giving viewers a taste of each of the performances.
“You are like a rich man entering heaven through the ear of a raindrop. Listen now again.” The Rain Stick, Seamus Heaney
