“I think his work is so powerful and well written that it's hard not to be initially impressed with anything he's done,” said Aquinas English major and Rian Bosse, of famed poet Seamus Heaney. While studying abroad in Ireland, Bosse and fellow students Rob Abid, Jake Mitchell, and Ken Foley stumbled upon an opportunity to attend the international Poetry Now conference held in Dublin, Ireland in late March. Through a chance purchase at a quiet local bookstore and the initiative to travel cross country, these four Aquinas students seized the opportunity to meet with a literary idol and participate in “one of the best experiences from this Ireland trip,” said Foley.

“Reading and studying poetry today, there's no way to avoid [Heaney’s] work,” said Bosse. Heaney, who earned his postgraduate teacher’s diploma at St. Joseph’s College in Belfast in 1962, continues to impress the literary community. His first volume of poetry, Eleven Poems, was published in 1965. Over the next thirty years, Heaney continued to publish prize winning volumes including Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark, Wintering Out, Field Work, and Seeing Things, and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1995. In 2006, Aquinas College invited the poet and Nobel Laureate to read as part of the Contemporary Writer’s Series.

Heaney continues to attract the attention of young writers across the globe and in the Aquinas community. Bosse, who is currently working with English Professor Miriam Pederson on an independent study for writing, began studying Heaney’s work after arriving in Ireland. “After I got into his selected works, I started modeling poems I was writing after a couple of his that I highly admired,” he said. “The way he encapsulates the poetic spirit of the people and culture of Ireland was something I was initially struck by.”

As Bosse continued his study of Heaney, he visited The Book Upstairs, a locally owned bookstore across from Trinity College in Dublin. The owner, upon noticing his purchase of Heaney’s, Human Chain, notified Bosse of the conference and suggested he attend. “When I mentioned the poetry festival, Rob, Kenny, and Jake were all excited to go,” he said. “We are all big readers, so getting the chance to just see someone as important as Seamus Heaney was something we were not going to let go by the wayside.”

After watching Heaney accept the Irish Times Poetry Now Award for Human Chain, the four students bumped into the poet’s biographer and were able to meet and snap a photo with Heaney. “I am delighted that the students were able to meet Heaney. I think that it is a testimony to how in Ireland the students have unlimited and unique opportunities to learn outside the classroom,” said Jennifer Dawson, Ph.D., associate professor of English and associate dean of student affairs, who accompanied the students on the Ireland program. “For English majors and serious poetry enthusiasts, meeting Heaney is a defining moment and a memory that I know these students will cherish.”

After meeting the poet, the four students were speechless, and could only later reflect on their experience. “Meeting Seamus Heaney was a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Abid. Since meeting Heaney and studying his poetry, Bosse continues to pursue an interest in Irish literature. He has since participated in a writing workshop in Galway with published Irish poets. “The arts are so special to the Irish people," said Bosse. "It's incredible getting the chance to experience this part of the culture while on the program. We will never forget it.”