Author(s): Seamus Heaney

Poetry

The sixth book of Virgil's Aeneid, in which Aeneas travels into the underworld to meet the spirit of his father, captivated Seamus Heaney from his schooldays. It took on a special significance after his own father's death, becoming a touchstone to which he would return. His Book VI bears the fruit of a lifetime's concentration upon it, and marks the end of Heaney's own poetic journey.