WB Yeats

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

I would like to find a couple good volumes, especially of the poetry. I have a book entitled Essays and Introductions, that has been sitting on my shelf for years, sadly unread. We recently spent three weeks in Ireland on vacation, and this has sparked my interest. (Visiting Yeats country in the north is on our agenda for our next trip). I would also be interested in volumes that have Irish and English versions together (side by side). I am interested in learning some of the language--or at least familiarizing myself with pronunciation and some words and phrases. Turns out I have many generations of ancestors born in Ireland on both mother's and father's side.

Can anyone recommend a good place to start? 

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Can anyone recommend a good place to start?

This Collected Poems, edited by Richard J. Finneran, has served me well over the years. It has very extensive endnotes, which I find helpful:

https://www.amazon.com/Collected-Yeats-Edited-Richard-Finneran/dp/B008411YUW/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1507772740&sr=1-9&keywords=yeats+collected+poems

[vandermolen]

I expect that the introduction to this would be worth reading:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/W-B-Yeats-Selected-Essential/dp/057122296X/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1507884774&sr=8-4&keywords=wb+yeats+the+poems

[North Star]

Velimir's recommendation seems like a good one. I have the Vintage, and that has served me well. Based on other volumes on Norton & Oxford World's Classics, those should be worth looking into, too.


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[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

I would also be interested in volumes that have Irish and English versions together (side by side).

To the best of my knowledge, Yeats never wrote anything in Irish. I am unaware of such a volume, although I suppose some enterprising translator may have done one.

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Thanks folks. I wasn't sure whether he wrote anything in Irish or not. I am not much of a believer in translated poetry in any case, but any excuse to immerse myself in the language is welcome. . .

[XB-70 Valkyrie]

Have any of you read anything by the Blasket Island authors? Tomás Ó Criomhthain or Peig Sayers? We picked up one of Ó Criomhthain's books while we were there, but I have not read it yet.

If you are ever in Ireland (or even if you're not  ), I will say that the Great Blasket Centre is one of the BEST museums of any kind I have ever visited, and is situated in a stunning landscape beside the sea.  http://blasket.ie/en/

[aligreto]

This is my version of Yeats' collected Poems....





Also, to the best of my knowledge Yeats did not write in the Irish language.

[aligreto]

Have any of you read anything by the Blasket Island authors? Tomás Ó Criomhthain or Peig Sayers? We picked up one of Ó Criomhthain's books while we were there, but I have not read it yet.

If you are ever in Ireland (or even if you're not  ), I will say that the Great Blasket Centre is one of the BEST museums of any kind I have ever visited, and is situated in a stunning landscape beside the sea.  http://blasket.ie/en/

I have read Peig Sayers but only in the native Irish language version. Certainly, it is a wonderful description of a hard and bleak life that those hardy souls endured living in a harsh landscape and environment.