Seamus Heaney 's poem The Little Canticles of Asturias , which appeared in the debut issue of SLATE , contains a mesmerizing image of a smouldering maw / of a pile of newspapers lit long ago , fanning up in the wind , breaking off and away / in flame-posies , small airborne fire-ships .
Slate posted Heaney 's poem in the first issue in September 2000 .