Biden and Irish poets: ‘Hope and history,’ a lifelong love

By HILLEL ITALIE
AP National Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — When President Joe Biden visits Ireland this week, you can expect him to visit an ancient castle, honor some of his ancestors and mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement among Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. You can also count on Biden to quote an Irish poet or two, especially Seamus Heaney, the late Nobel laureate. Presidents have long made a point of citing a favorite writer, and for Biden that often has been Heaney, renowned for what Nobel judges in 1995 called “works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth.” He’s also a fan of William Butler Yeats.