Coastal Senior College, serving midcoast Maine from Wiscasset to Camden, is offering eleven winter courses this season. Three of these courses will be offered in person in Damariscotta and Newcastle.

“Troubled By the Troubles - Heaney’s Dilemma” delves into the history of Ireland through the words of the poet Seamus Heaney, who, as Instructor John Ward declares, “is, arguably, the best poet writing in English in the 20th century; his competition is another Irishman, W.B. Yeats. Both poets engaged to some degree with the issue of Ireland’s violent and unhappy history under British rule and with the murderous conflicts between Irish Catholics and Protestants. The euphemistic term for this national bloodshed and violence is ‘The Troubles’. We will track this topic from Heaney’s earliest poems onward and try to understand Heaney’s take on The Troubles.

Ward will teach this class in person at Schooner Cove in Damariscotta on Wednesdays at 1:30 p.m. Ward has been a professor of English at Kenyon College specializing in 18th and 19th British literature and the history of the British novel. Since retiring to Maine in 2006, Ward has taught many Senior College courses, enjoying the freedom to explore topics beyond his specialization.

Class discussions in Coastal Senior College courses offer an opportunity to learn and connect with other students who are primarily 50 and older.

Eight classes will also be offered on Zoom, making them accessible to all from home. Registrations are now being accepted. Classes begin the week of Jan. 13. Find more information about CSC Winter Term classes, membership and registration at coastalseniorcollege.org.