
SCHOOL PROGRAMME AND ORGANISATION
Introduction
Registration takes place at the Yeats Memorial Building, Douglas
Hyde Bridge, on Saturday, from 10.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. The Official
Opening of the School takes place on Sunday afternoon, at a ceremony
hosted by the Mayor of Sligo. A scenic tour of Yeats Country concludes
with evensong at Drumcliffe Church, where Yeats is buried, "Under
bare Benbulben's head". This is followed by an evening reception
and buffet for students and lecturers.
Lectures
Each weekday morning there are lectures at 9.30 a.m. and 11.15 a.m.
in the Hawk's Well Theatre, with coffee and tea available between
the lectures. These lectures /seminars focus on specific periods
of Yeats's poetry and are designed to cover the whole canon during
the two weeks. They also explore the designated themes and grow
out of the current research of the lecturers. Afternoons are free
for impromptu discussion sessions, for study in the Yeats Society
Library, or for exploring Sligo and the surrounding landscape, from
Knocknarea to Rosses Point, which offers great hiking, a spectacular
beach, a golf course and excellent pubs.
Seminars
The week-long seminars, in groups comprising on average twelve students,
meet daily from 4.30 to 6.00 p.m. The basic texts are Collected
Poems (Albright or Jeffares) and Collected Plays, and texts for
all seminars will be available at Keohane's Bookshop and the Book
Nest book shop in Sligo. Students may prepare for the School by
reading Yeats's Autobiographies; Roy Foster or Terence Brown's biographies
of Yeats; a critical text such as Richard Ellmann's Yeats: The
Man and the Masks, and a history of modern Ireland. The tutors
are available for consultation on theses and other research projects.
The lectures, seminars and special educational events total more
than forty-five hours of work, the equivalent of most unit or three-credit
courses. By arrangement with the Director and with the prior approval
of the student's home institution, provision may be made for academic
credit through additional seminar exercises, consultations and an
essay.
Evenings
On most evenings, there are special presentations by distinguished
writers, musicians, dancers and storytellers. Plays, concerts and
other events are normally run as part of a Sligo festival at this
time also. There is also a Student Poetry Reading.
Student members of the
drama workshop will produce a play on the final Friday evening.
Tours
In addition to the initial tour of Yeats Country, the programme
arranges optional tours to Lough Gill, Coole Park and Thoor Ballylee,
and the Carrowmore megalithic cemetery.There will also be an evening
of traditional music and instruction in Irish set-dancing.
Social Centre
The Yeats Memorial Building is open daily as the Social Centre for
students, for study, relaxation, networking with lecturers and fellow
students, collecting mail, etc... Most evenings, particular pubs
are recommended for traditional music and refreshment !

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