William Butler Yeats and I

When I was in Innisfree, County Sligo, I was determined to have a peek at the lake made famous by William Butler Yeats in his poem the ‘Lake Isle at Innisfree’.

Now I have this sudden urge to visit the same county again, oftentimes known as Yeats Country because this summer marks 150 years since Yeats was born.

                                             Lake Isle of Innisfree in the background

As is befitting a legend and a Nobel Prize winner for literature in 1923, this commemorative year boasts of nationwide events with the highlight being Yeats day (June 11 – 14). On the international arena for this year, his works are also enjoyed and shared in Moscow, London, Washington, Rio and Beijing.

For us who love literature and poetry, this celebrative extravaganza is a sure delight.

How many of us have aspired to write a novel or have a poem immortalised on a wall of fame? Alas, in my search for similarities between Yeats and I,  I find great humour in the trivial.

Take for example, when Yeats cooked sausages to celebrate the news that he had won the Nobel Prize. The Full Irish breakfast is not the same without sausages. I have heard of elderly ladies  smuggling sausages across international borders (when on vacation) for their loved ones just like how some of us would also do the same for Malaysian delicacies. Frying sausages for breakfast is something of an enjoyable routine to me. The whole kitchen being awashed with the fragrance of hot piping sausages bursting through the skin is something to die for. Unlike Yeats, I don’t think I’ll ever get that infamous ‘You’ve won the Nobel Prize’ phone call.

There were also several people who fired Yeats’ passion.

His ideology about life took several different turns as he grew older. I guess that happens to us as well. It would be most strange to find static characters whose mindsets have not been challenged or developed. His poems too became more symbolic and complex as the years went on. I remember having had a hard time as an undergraduate comprehending ‘Second Coming’ and answering questions on his concepts of the supernatural and eternity. The fact that his poems also carried political themes did not help as we would need to be well acquainted with Irish politics.

Yeats also mentioned the ‘nine bean rows’ that he would have on the Lake Isle of Innisfree. The last time I counted I had six bean rows in my garden. Whether Yeats ever had a penchant for gardening, I do not know. What I know is he did mention beans in that poem and that is as good as saying that we are both into beans.

I am empowered by one of Yeats’ quotes - “think like a wise man but communicate in the language of the people”. I have never been so immersed in a society as I do now…..mixing with people from all walks of life. Prior to coming to Ireland, my circle of friends comprised  mainly of the academia and the church. I would surely need the wisdom of Solomon to make sense of this present mingling.

Yeats also had a close circle of friends and family members as well as creative people who impacted his life. I would like to think that I too have the same. It is so true that iron sharpens iron and like minds nourish each other. Great friends are those that you make at any stage of your life and keep them.

Yeats died on January 28, 1939 in a room overlooking the Mediterranean at Cap Martin on the French Riviera. It took almost a decade and two funerals (with  the Second World War in – between) before his remains were finally brought back to Ireland. Rumours have it that it might not have been his body either, possibly Alfred Hollis, an Englishman who died around the same time and was buried beside him in the same French cemetery.

Great people do have a touch of mystery that sets them apart, even in death.

 

THIS ARTICLE WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED BY NEW STRAITS TIMES  7.6. 2015  http://digital.nstp.com.my/nst/books/150607nstnews/index.html#/23/