A Chara, - Michael Keohane, president of the Yeats Society, is reported as saying that the Yeats International Summer School is more appreciated around the globe than it is in Ireland. (June 17th).
I have no doubt that he is correct.
However, this is not surprising, as the school appears essentially as a gathering of international undergraduates and academics to study Yeats's literary work.
In this the venerable school has a well-deserved reputation.
Mr Keohane bemoans the fact that the school does not attract funding from State or local authorities.
Perhaps there is an opportunity for the school to attract more local support by adjusting its scope to cover wider aspects of the poet.
The subtitle of my recent biography of WB Yeats describes him as "A Maker of Modern Ireland". Relatively little attention is devoted to this theme.
However, the school would also want to encourage more involvement for those who attend its public lectures.
I attended two excellent lectures in the past two years and was surprised to find no allowance for audience participation, as is common with all modern summer schools. - Yours, etc,
ANTHONY JORDAN, Gilford Road, Dublin 4.