Presented by Dr Tara Stubbs and Jane Haigh. Join us in a discussion about the structure and content of Seamus Heaney’s poem 'Scaffolding' in relation to The Abingdon Arms - the building, and the pub's varied interactions with the community it serves and benefits.

Tara and Jane ask us to read the poem in advance and think about possible connections with the pub and our ‘More than a Pub’ events. They will give a short introduction to the poem, and their responses to it both verbal and visual, and will then open up discussion. They are co-founders of the ‘Poetry and Structure’ public engagement project run through Oxford University’s Department for Continuing Education: https://www.conted.ox.ac.uk/about/poetry-and-structure.

‘Scaffolding’, by Seamus Heaney, can be found in his collection ‘Death of a Naturalist’ (Faber, 1966) and 'Opened Ground: Selected Poems' (Faber, 2002).

He can also be heard reading the poem here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7KzfqtL5qY

We recommend also the excellent, moving documentary 'Seamus Heaney and the music of what happens', in which his widow Marie also reads 'Scaffolding', which is available on BBC iPlayer..

A recording of this talk is available at: https://youtu.be/CclYzrV4eaw