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Writer Caitlin Flanagan reflects on growing up with Nobel-prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney
For many, the holidays are a time to rekindle connections with family and friends. Sometimes that means thinking about the influences of those we’ve lost. For Atlantic writer Caitlin Flanagan — who grew up in a family of Berkeley, California, academics — that includes her unlikely life-long connection with Nobel-prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney, who died suddenly in 2013.
The pair first met when Heaney spent a year at Berkeley as his career was just beginning, endearing himself to the Flanagan family, who visited Heaney and his family over years and decades. Heaney eventually became somewhat of a second father to Flanagan, guiding her through the years and continuing to do so, even a decade after his death.
Her essay, “Walk On Air Against Your Better Judgement” appears in the latest of The Atlantic and she joins host Robin Young to discuss.
This segment aired on December 16, 2024.