HEANEY, Marie 1940–

PERSONAL: Born September 14, 1940, in Northern Ireland; daughter of Thomas F. (in business) and Eileen (a teacher; maiden name, O'Hare) Devlin; married Seamus Heaney (a poet), August 5, 1965; children: Michael, Christopher, Catherine.

ADDRESSES: Home—Dublin, Ireland. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 557 Broadway, New York, NY 10012.

CAREER: Teacher, journalist, and editor. Appeared on television in BBC Northern Ireland program, Now and Then. Has given readings of work in Ireland, Britain, and the United States.

WRITINGS:

Over Nine Waves (myths and legends), Faber (Winchester, MA), 1994.

(Editor, in association with RTE) Sunday Miscellany: A Selection from 1995–2000, Town House (Dublin, Ireland), 2000.

Sources: Letters from the Irish People on Sustenance for the Soul, Town House (Dublin, Ireland), 2000.

The Names upon the Harp, Irish Myth and Legend, Arthur A. Levine Books (New York, NY), 2000.

Heart Mysteries: 50 Poems from Ireland to Touch the Soul, Town House (Dublin, Ireland), 2003.

Contributor of reviews to periodicals. Has written scripts for television and radio programs.

SIDELIGHTS: Marie Heaney collected eight ancient Irish tales and retold them in a style appealing to young adult readers in her book The Names upon the Harp: Irish Myth and Legend. The successful result is "a tribute both to their ancient power and to the skills of Heaney," decided Booklist's GraceAnne A. DeCandido. Heaney has divided the tales into three groups, titled "Mythology Cycle," "Ulster Cycle," "Finn Cycle." These divisions are commonly accepted as a means of looking at early Irish literature. In the book, each cycle has a "brief but pithy" introduction that prepares readers for what is to come, explained Grace Oliff in School Library Journal. It illuminates the history of the period as well as pointing out the significance of the selected tales. Traditional stories such as "Deidre of the Sorrows" and "Oisin in the Land of Youth" are among the selections that illustrate traditional themes of bravery, treachery, and love acted out among chieftains, kings, and beautiful women. The result is "a solid collection representative of Irish myth and legend," concluded Oliff.

Heaney is the wife of the celebrated Irish poet Seamus Heaney. A native of Ireland herself, she has a strong feeling for the country's mythology. In an interview published on the Scholastic Books Web site, she mused, "These stories, while they may seem fantastic, actually help us to understand some things about ourselves. And as life gets more complicated, and in some ways less human, I think that anything that makes human beings realize that they have a lot in common is very helpful. And I think that these universal stories have lasted since man began to speak, or write, will last as a way of helping us understand ourselves, why we're here, who we are, and what happens to us when we're no longer here."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, January 1, 2001, GraceAnne A. DeCandido, review of The Names upon the Harp: Irish Myth and Legend, p. 935.

Library Journal, February 15, 1994, Patricia Dooley, review of Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legends, p. 166.

Publishers Weekly, November 27, 2000, review of The Names upon the Harp, p. 75.

School Library Journal, January, 2001, Grace Oliff, review of The Names upon the Harp, p. 146.

ONLINE

Scholastic Books Web site, http://www.scholastic.com/ (February 22, 2003), interview with Marie Heaney.