Seamus Heaney delivers lecture in Dundee

Tickets are now sold out

Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney will deliver his only public lecture this year at the University of Dundee as part of the graduation festivities.

The world renowned poet will deliver his lecture 'Room to Rhyme' in the Sensation Village of marquees in the public area behind Dundee Contemporary Arts Centre on Thursday 10 July at 6.30pm.

Heaney will receive an honorary degree from the University of Dundee at the Arts and Social Sciences and Education and Social Work graduation ceremony on Friday 11 July in the Caird Hall.

Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of Dundee said: "Seamus Heaney is a world renowned force in literature. His poetry has enriched the lives of millions of people worldwide. This achievement is reflected in his Nobel prize. This is the only public lecture that Seamus Heaney is giving this year so we are especially honoured and delighted that he has chosen the University of Dundee."

Seamus Heaney served for five years on The Arts Council in the Republic of Ireland (1973-1978) and over the years has acted as judge and lecturer for countless poetry competitions and literary conferences, establishing a special relationship with the annual W.B. Yeats International Summer School in Sligo. He is a member of Aosdana, the Irish academy of artists and writers, and a foreign member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1996, subsequent to winning his Nobel Prize in literature in 1995, he was made a Commandeur de L'Ordre des Arts et Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

'Room to Rhyme' will give an insight into Seamus Heaney's poetry and thinking. Tickets for the lecture are available from Ali Constable in External Relations at the University of Dundee. 01382 345564 a.j.constable@dundee.ac.uk

Heaney is one of eight distinguished individuals receiving an honorary degree from the University of Dundee this year. The others are:

• Stella McCartney, a top designer with the Gucci group will receive her degree at an exclusive graduation ceremony in London for design students attending the London New Designers show.

• Michael Gordon, inventor of 'Harvey' - the cardiology patient simulator that the University of Dundee has pioneered in the UK - will travel from the University of Miami to receive his honour.

• Vanessa Lawrence, Director General of the Ordnance Survey studied for a postgraduate degree in remote sensing at the University in the 1980s. She is the youngest person and only female to direct the Ordnance Survey.

• John and Val Tuckwell, the publishing husband and wife team will be honoured for their commitment to Scotland and publishing its history and literature under the auspices of Tuckwell Press.

• Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design graduate Peter Baillie, chairman of DCA, will receive his honour for his enormous commitment and contribution to the visual arts in Dundee.

• Tom McKillop is Chief Executive Officer of the world's fifth largest drugmaker Astrazeneca. He managed the most rapid and smooth merger between Sweden's Astra and Britain's Zeneca in 1999.

By Jenny Marra, Head of Press 01382 344910 j.m.marra@dundee.ac.uk