Velvets Fan

W.B.Yeats is my favorite poet and I had read a biography of him before, but I didn't really take it in at the time (I was young, foolish and lazy). I felt like I discovered much more about Yeats' ideas and "system" - the term he himself used to describe the subconscious-based, supernatural mythology of his main book of poems, A Vision - through this biography. It was a little light on intimate details about Yeats, as if the author was too respectful of his own role as an academic to really probe into Yeats' personal life. But in general it did a good job of explaining the phases Yeats went through in his life and elucidating the ideas for his poems.

(I must visit Sligo. I must visit Ireland!)

I was inspired by this biography to read Yeats' Autobiographies - the next book off the shelves for me, got it at the library today. Also it gave me more background to re-read his poetry, and try and suss it out once and for all.

I'm in my 40th year, which in many ways is a depressing fact. But, like Yeats, I grow younger the older I get. Certainly more energetic of mind and curious. It was a bit disturbing to read about Yeats in his later years, writing about aging. But of course, life is finite.

I'm exploring the work of Yeats more deeply now than I was in University nearly 20 years ago. I'm glad I'm doing that.