Arts and Humanities Colloquium speaker focuses on Irish poet W. B. Yeats

Dr. Clay Armstrong of VIU’s English Department unravels the persistently


complex work of W. B. Yeats and the tension between politics and poetry Friday, April 9, 10 to 11:30 am in the 5th floor boardroom of


the Nanaimo campus Library.

W. B. Yeats (1865-1939) is among the most influential poets of the


twentieth century. Born in Ireland during a period of cultural, political, and


religious divisions, Yeats published numerous volumes of poetry and essay


collections. He edited and interpreted the works of William Blake; he helped to


create the revolutionary Abbey Theater; and he associated with nearly every


significant Modernist author. He was an Irish Senator and Nobel Prize winner;


he translated the Upanishads; and he believed in magic.

The immensity of Yeats's experience as an artist has led to a fragmented


critical tradition, which influences how the poet is anthologized and taught.


Scholars still struggle to establish meaningful points of contact between his


many thematic and stylistic turns, and often separate Yeats the hardened nationalist


from Yeats the abstract philosopher. Adding to the scattered criticisms, Yeats


routinely published multiple versions of the same work.  

In this presentation, Armstrong will focus on Yeats’s quarrel over


the cultural significance of literature in a time of violence. He


will also talk about how his experience as a student of Yeats has


influenced his teaching.    

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For more information about this and other upcoming events, visit:


www.viu.ca/events