Seamus Heaney This article is more than 10 years oldSeamus Heaney's last words were 'Noli timere', son tells funeralThis article is more than 10 years oldPoet texted Latin phrase meaning 'don't be afraid' to wife minutes before he died, says Michael HeaneyHis voice quavering, the son of Seamus Heaney has told mourners of his father's final words, minutes before his death.
At a requiem mass in Dublin, crowded with mourners, Michael Heaney described how the poet and Nobel laureate, who died last week at the age of 74, had chosen Latin for the message to his wife, Marie. Read More...
TheatreReviewHarold Pinter theatre, LondonArthur's Round Table has never looked so square. Spamalot, the 2005 musical adapted by Eric Idle and John Du Prez from Monty Python and the Holy Grail, is back in the West End in what is claimed to be a new and improved version directed by Christopher Luscombe. What this means is that it is served with effortful, topical garnish: Boris Johnson, Jedward and Susan Boyle are briefly impersonated, and there are frequent nods to the Olympics. Read More...
Gyula and Erzsebet Keimovits, the author’s great grandparents. His own parents took a DNA test to establish their genetic ancestry. Photograph: Oscar SchwartzGyula and Erzsebet Keimovits, the author’s great grandparents. His own parents took a DNA test to establish their genetic ancestry. Photograph: Oscar SchwartzFamilyDNA tests have been used in Israel to verify a person’s Jewishness. This brings a bigger question: what does it mean to be genetically Jewish? And can you prove religious identity scientifically? Read More...