University Libraries Promotion and Tenure Recognition

As noted on the cover, Seeing Things is a book of thresholds and crossings, of losses balanced by marvels. In that sense, this book is a wonderful symbol of my own crossing to becoming a tenured professor at Penn State University. Seamus Heaney is an Irish poet, as was my grandfather, Francis D'Arcy. Francis wanted to be a teacher but there were no opportunities for him in Ireland. He immigrated to the United States when he was 18 years old so that his children and grandchildren would have more opportunities. In the poem Seeing Things, Seamus Heaney writes about having a vision of seeing his father after his father's death that concludes, "There was nothing between us there that might not still be there happily ever after." I dedicate this book to my parents and grandparents who made many sacrifices on my behalf to help to create the many opportunities that I have available to me today.