A Conversation with Kayla Thuel

“Guilt and Responsibility: The Artful and Artless Voyeur in Seamus Heaney’s Late Career” 

In ENG 432: Coordinating Seminar II, Kayla Thuel was inspired to write on the development of the Irish poet, Seamus Heaney. While others in her seminar decided to focus their term papers on eulogy, Kayla went a different direction. In her paper, she explored how Seamus Heaney began to lean more into his persona as an agent for political change during Ireland’s Troubles. 

For Kayla, there were few resources available on Heaney’s development; however, under the guidance of her instructor, Dr. Gregory Baker, she was able to narrow her focus to explore the themes of guilt and responsibility in Heaney’s development. 

What Kayla discovered in her research is that Heaney, like anyone else, was an imperfect and deeply flawed man. He struggled to accept his dual roles as poet and political agent, and grappled with much “Catholic Guilt” throughout his poetry. As Kayla realized, guilt can be positive, and for Heaney, it encouraged greater reflection and growth throughout his writing. Through his guilt, Heaney rose above his passivity and became an agent for change; he left behind his old, half-hearted self, and began to practice what he preached and stood up firmly against political violence. 

Kalya thinks we all can take something from the example of Heaney; however, we need not all go to the lengths that he did. Most of us are not poets with international fame, and, for the ordinary person, silence does not always equal violence. Nonetheless, people as bystanders all hold collective responsibility in times of crisis. Like Heaney, we must learn to stop standing by as the “artful voyeur”: one who is fascinated by violence, yet does nothing about it. 

While originally coming to Catholic University to study Psychology and Brain Science, Kayla settled on English due to a lifelong love of literature. Along with this, beginning high school and up through currently being a teacher in New Jersey, Kalya has strived to help people with their struggles. Her writing is just one way of accomplishing this. Her paper on Heaney’s poetry being published not only fulfills a lifelong dream of hers, but it gives the world something better: inspiration. 

Kayla shows us how one man rises above his guilt and embraces being an agent of change, no longer just a man on the sidelines. Today, when we still struggle with divisiveness, Heaney is an example of someone who took action and responsibility, and he calls on us to do the same. Kayla graduated from Catholic University with a degree in English/Secondary Education in 2025. She is currently teaching High School and Middle School in her home state of New Jersey.