Roy Foster

Seamus Heaney’s letters confirm that he really was as nice as he seemed

Not only did he reply eloquently to anyone who sent him a book or poem, he even wrote at courteous length to unknown, self-important curmudgeons

Seamus Heaney, photographed at the Edinburgh international Book Festival in 2002. [Getty Images]
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  • The Letters of Seamus Heaney

    Christopher Reid

    Faber, pp. 820, £40

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