''Finders Keepers: Selected Prose 1971–2001'' is a 2001 collection of

prose Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...

, published by

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

. It features reprints from earlier Heaney collections, and several works previously published in newspapers, as lectures, or contributions to books.

Conception

In the preface, Heaney states his editor, Paul Keegan, encouraged him to create the book. Numerous essays in the book were previously published in earlier collections, namely 1980 ''Preoccupations,'' 1988 ''The Government of the Tongue,'' 1995 ''The Redress of Poetry,'' and the 1989 collection of "

Richard Ellmann Richard David Ellmann, Fellow of the British Academy, FBA (March 15, 1918 – May 13, 1987) was an American Literary criticism, literary critic and biographer of the Irish writers James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and W. B. Yeats, William Butler Yeats. ...

Lectures in Modern Literature" given in

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

titled ''The Place of Writing.'' He also collected revised and abridged works he wrote for newspapers, some uncollected lectures, and various contributions to books he did over the years. The title, ''Finders Keepers,'' is from the

adage A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic speech, formulaic language. A proverbial phrase ...

of the same name, which Heaney compares the excitement of a child finding something new and interesting to the excitement he had when writing the pieces in the book.

Heaney describes the book as sectioned much like ''Preoccupations:'' the first part is autobiographical or topical, the second of a pure literary focus, and the last section contains miscellaneous work which he describes is like "a kite's tail". Further linking ''Finders Keepers'' with ''Preoccupations,'' he quotes in the preface:

Reception

The book was well received upon its release. Writing in her review for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'', Lachlan MacKinnon described Heaney's writing as "precise" and "engaging". Robert Henryson in ''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...

'' stated the book was a "must

read Read or READ may refer to: Computing * Read (computer), to retrieve data from a storage device * Read (system call), a low-level IO function on a file descriptor in a computer * Read (Unix), a command in Unix operating systems Places * Read, L ...

for poets and students of poetry". Rachel Buxton for '' The Cambridge Quarterly'' said in her review the book is "to be cherished" as a means to reassess Heaney's past poetic criticism. Writing for the ''

Harvard Review ''Harvard Review'' is a biannual literary journal published by Houghton Library at Harvard University. History In 1986 Stratis Haviaras, curator of the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University, founded a quarterly periodical called ''Erato ...

'', Thomas O'Grady described the book as a "compelling complement" to Heaney's poetic work. William Pratt, writing for ''

World Literature Today ''World Literature Today'' (''WLT'') is an American magazine of international literature and culture, published at the University of Oklahoma. The magazine's stated goal is to publish international essays, poetry, fiction, interviews, and book ...

'', found the book ambitious but inconsistent in its poetic criticism and "mean-spirited" in its tone.

References

{{Seamus Heaney, state=expanded Essay collections Faber & Faber books 2001 non-fiction books Books about poetry

Conception

Contents

Reception

References