Introduction: Seamus Heaney’s Europe

Seamus Heaney’s Europe is a space of contradictions. On the one hand, there is his belief in the principle of the national and ethnic identity understood in essentialist terms. On the other hand, there is a vision of the European tradition as multi-layered and devoid of clear outlines and a stable centre. The two moments inform Heaney’s work and are examined in the context of literary fascinations and interdependencies.