Poetry is not a luxury...

With political revolutions currently sweeping many parts of the world, I'm reminded of another revolution that occurred almost a century ago. In the week after Easter in 1916, a revolt in Dublin, Ireland, started. While many people refer to it as the Easter Rising, others refer to it as the Poets' Rebellion, due to the six poets and writers who were its leaders, including Patrick Pearse and James Connolly. It was a different world, where poetry was not merely acknowledged for one month each year.

The uprising was not popular among the Irish people, and was put down somewhat easily in a week. While not a stellar example of either military strategy or political statesmanship, the Easter Rising has inspired some fantastic literature and cinema. Roddy Doyle's A Star Called Henry is a humorous and heart-breaking fictional portrayal of a typical soldier on the Irish side. Leon Uris's lengthy Trinity also covers this period of Irish history. The independent film, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, should not be attempted without a box of tissues handy.

But the masterpiece that came from the Poets' Rebellion is itself a poem by W. B. Yeats. It expresses all the ambivalence and sorrow of the Rising and that period of Irish history. Like Ireland, Yeats poignantly expresses how his contradictory feelings tear him apart. The text can be found here, but hearing it is highly recommended:



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