| W.B. Yeats: The Uncontrollable Mystery |
| T.S. Eliot described Irish writer William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) as "...the greatest poet of our time -- certainly the greatest in this language and, as far as I am able to tell, in any language..." Yeats was also a remarkable playwright, whose strange and powerful ritual dramas still stand as landmarks in the development of European theatre. As an organizer Yeats was largely responsible for a cultural renaissance in Ireland at the turn of the 20th century. In 1923 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. |
| W.B. Yeats: The Uncontrollable Mystery is the collective title for three separate programs of carefully integrated poetry, prose, anecdotal, historical and biographical material. These presentations provide a comprehensive introduction to the life and work of W.B.Yeats in an entertaining manner. |
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Things Discovered in the Deep | |
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"The mystical life," Yeats wrote, "is the center of all that I think and all that I do and all that I write." This program intertwines an examination of Yeats' lifelong involvement with the occult, into an account of the personal relationships that inspired so much of his poetry. |
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The Cave of The Chimaera | |
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This program concentrates on Yeats' work in the theatre and its sources in Celtic myth. Particular attention is paid to his great Cuchulain Cycle. |
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Daybreak and a Candle-end | |
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Somehow, amid the chaos and savagery of wars and civil strife and beset by personal tragedy, Yeats managed to achieve an inner tranquility. This presentation explores his place in Irish history and includes an examination of the images in the mysterious work Yeats called, simply, A Vision. |
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"...While still I may I write for you |
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The love I lived, the dream I knew..." |