Poetry, painting, song, craft and food; all will be on the menu for Sligo’s second annual Yeats Day celebration throughout the town on Thursday June 13, birthday of Nobel Prize Winning poet WB Yeats.
This year the day will be a dawn to dusk celebration not just of Sligo’s Nobel Laureate and his works, but also of his brother Jack, one of the country’s most significant painters of the last century, and his sisters Susan and Elizabeth- who made an enormous contribution to the Gaelic art and crafts revival in the early 20th century.
The highlight will of course be the birthday celebrations on O’Connell Street, Sligo with poetry, balloons, birthday cake and music. Among key events of the day will be actor Michael Fish’ fascinating interpretation of WB Yeats Nobel Prize winning speech, delivered in Stockholm, Sweden in December 1923. The Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Yeats for his “for his always inspired poetry, which in a highly artistic form gives expression to the spirit of a whole nation”.
Yeats actual Nobel prize –go and see it – is on display at the County Library & Museum, Stephen Street, Sligo. To celebrate the prize, restaurants in Sligo will be asked to serve a variety of foods, based on the theme of sausages and wine, the food that WB celebrated with when he was told he had won the prize. Apparently it was the only food he had in the house!
Also at 12.30pm at Central Library in Stephen Street: 'Choral Yeats - Children in costume recite Yeats poetry'
The Hamilton Gallery will launch a Gathering-inspired exhibition of Irish American art, inspired by what WB Yeats called Numberless Dreams.
A variety of competitions are being run with primary and secondary schools to celebrate poetry, art, print and embroidery with prizes announced on Yeats Day.
For further information on Yeats Day and the upcoming Season of Yeats events please visit www.seasonofyeats.com/yeatsday/
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