Blackberry Picking

“Death of a Naturalist” by Seamus Heaney (1999)

This is the title poem of Heaney’s first major poetry collection, which also featured “Blackberry Picking” and his most well-known poem, “Digging.” This collection is believed to hold some of his best, most raw poems.

“Blackberrying” by Sylvia Plath (1960)

American poet Sylvia Plath contributes her own experience of searching for blackberries, along the way finding personal introspection and observations of the world.

“Bluebeard” by Edna St. Vincent Millay (1917)

American lyric poet Edna St. Vincent Millay also draws on the story of Bluebeard, mentioned here in “Blackberry Picking.”

“Seamus Heaney: ‘To set the darkness echoing’” by Dennis O’Driscoll (2008)

The Guardian interviews Heaney, exploring his roots in Derry and his storied career.

“The Púca, and Blackberries after Hallowe’en” (2016)

This historical journal entry is a brief firsthand account of the relationship between the Irish phouka (or púca) and the local blackberries.

“Fruit of the Doom – An Irishman’s Diary about blackberries” by Frank McNally (2017)

This article explores some of the lore and contemporary folklore associated with Irish blackberries, touching upon Heaney’s “Blackberry Picking” and the poem’s influence.