The Moon Spun Round E-Book

W.b.yeats

• Herausgeber: The O'Brien Press
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Seitenzahl: 39

Beschreibung

Bringing the spirit and beauty of Yeats's writing to a whole new young audience! This sumptuously illustrated book complements the carefully selected works of W.B. Yeats, which include poems, stories, a letter from childhood, and an account of his daughter Anne's memories of childhood. Including unpublished work, this gorgeous book draws on Yeats's preoccupation with magic, fairy lore, place, family and childhood. A mystical and magical tone that pervades the collection will enthral younger readers.

Leseprobe

Where My Books Go

All the words that I gather,

And all the words that I write,

Must spread out their wings untiring,

And never rest in their flight,

Till they come where your sad, sad heart is,

And sing to you in the night,

Beyond where the waters are moving,

Storm darkened or starry bright.

W.B. Yeats

William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) was born in Dublin, Ireland, on 13 June 1865.

Considered to be one of the greatest poets of modern times, he was awarded the Nobel Prizein Literature in 1923.

Yeats’s father, the portrait painter John Butler Yeats, read many poems to the young‘Willie’ Yeats, and from his mother, Susan, he heard many tales from her home county ofSligo. Yeats and his sisters, Susan (Lily), Elizabeth (Lolly) and Jane Grace, and his brothers,Jack and Robert, spent their childhoods in Sligo, Dublin and London.

Yeats went to the Godolphin School in Hammersmith, London, the Erasmus Smith HighSchool, Dublin, and the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art. Although he was a talentedartist, Yeats decided that he would rather be a poet.

Yeats was a key figure in the Irish Literary Revival of the late nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies. His early poems and stories were inspired by Irish mythology and folklore. He alsowrote about love and political matters in Ireland. He was interested in magic, mysticism andspiritualism.

As a young man, Yeats fell in love with the political activist and nationalist Maud Gonne.He went on to marry George (Georgie) Hyde-Lees, and together they were members of themagical order of The Golden Dawn in London. They had two children, Anne and Michael.

Yeats found a great friend in Lady Augusta Gregory, who lived in Coole Park near Gort inCounty Galway, and the poet often visited her there and wrote many of his poems and playsin her house and garden.

With Lady Gregory and others, Yeats founded an Irish national theatre (to be known as theAbbey Theatre) and wrote plays to be performed there. Yeats was also an important culturalfigure and was appointed a senator of the Irish Free State in 1922. Yeats died in France on 28January 1939 and is buried in Drumcliffe churchyard in County Sligo.

Dr Noreen Doody was born and lives in Dublin. She studied English and French atUniversity College Dublin and received a PhD in English Literature from Trinity CollegeDublin. She has been a teacher for many years and delights in introducing children andadults to Ireland’s rich heritage of poetry, prose and drama. She is a senior lecturer inEnglish Literature and the former head of the Department of English at St Patrick’s College,Drumcondra, Dublin. She currently teaches on the MA programme in Children’s Literaturein the School of English, Dublin City University. She is an expert on the work of W.B. Yeatsand Oscar Wilde.

Scottish-born Shona Shirley Macdonald is an artist based in County Waterford. Herpublished illustration includes Rita Kelly’s poetry retrospective Turas go Bun na Spéire andtwo Scottish Gaelic graphic novels, Cuir Stad air an Stoirm Shneachda and An Smutag Ghaisgeil. Herprojects range from publications of poetry and fiction to concept artwork for theatre andcomputer games. She also illustrates greeting cards and T-shirts for her design companyMireog. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

This eBook edition first published 2016 byThe O’Brien Press Ltd,

12 Terenure Road East, Rathgar,Dublin 6, D06 HD27, Ireland.

Tel: [phone]; Fax: [phone]E-mail: [email protected].

Website: www.obrien.ieFirst published 2016.The O’Brien Press is a member of Publishing Ireland.

eBook ISBN: 978-1-84717-904-3

Copyright for compilation, introduction, and ‘Yeats and his Family’ © Noreen DoodyCopyright for illustrations © Shona Shirley MacdonaldCopyright for typesetting, layout, editing, design © The O’Brien Press Ltd

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means,electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or in any information storageand retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the generosity of the late Anne Yeats, who shared with me stories of her childhoodto retell in this book. I would like to thank Michael O’Brien for his support and his adherence to aestheticideals; Marina Carr, who introduced my work to Michael; Susan Houlden for her insightful editing; EmmaByrne for her outstanding design; Ide Ní Laoghaire for her helpful advice. I am indebted to Shona ShirleyMacdonald for her exquisite, magical illustrations that illuminate the beauty of Yeats’s language.