Death of a Naturalist. London: Faber, 1966. Third Impression. Pp, 57.  Green cloth boards, in publisher’s dust jacket. Jacket faded along spine, otherwise a nice bright copy.

Seamus Heaney’s Death of a Naturalist, his first commercially published collection, marked a stunning debut that immediately established him as a major poetic voice. Upon its release, the work garnered widespread acclaim, earning Heaney several prestigious literary awards, including the E.C. Gregory Award, the Cholmondeley Award, the Somerset Maugham Award, and the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize. These accolades not only affirmed his exceptional talent but also signalled the arrival of a poet whose work would leave an indelible mark on contemporary literature.

Critics and scholars now recognise the collection as a cornerstone of Heaney’s oeuvre, showcasing his mastery of form, rhythm, and imagery while foreshadowing the themes of memory, identity, and transformation that would define his later work.