Monday, April 21, 2008

Innisfree

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“I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree,
And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made:
Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee,
And live alone in the bee-loud glade.”

- from “The Lake Isle of Innisfree” by William Butler Yeats (1865-1939)
Posted by Stephen Lyn Bales at 9:14 PM
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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

During the late'80s & early '90s, while living in northern Illinois, I would go to a nearby community center to hear a group called Innisfree. I even have several of their cassettes. Now I'm wondering if they got their name from the Yeats' piece you quoted. I don't know if they're still around. They played mostly in the Chicago area; however, they'd fit right in on the WDVX play list.

Kathy McGinnis-Craft

April 23, 2008 at 9:33 AM
Stephen Lyn Bales said...

Hello Kathy.

It's good to hear from you. I think either the band was a fan of Yeats or they had good knowledge of obscure Irish geography. The island of Innisfree is uninhabited, one of 20 islands, in Lake Gill in northern Ireland. I'll bet the island inspired Yeats and Yeats inspired the band.

It’s a beautiful poem. I’m sure you can find the rest on-line.

Many thanks. Lyn

April 23, 2008 at 9:22 PM

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