Sobol's Yeatean Apotheosis

[This post has been published to the past using blogger's scheduling feature]

Apotheosis is the process whereby a hero becomes divine. This happened for me in some ways this evening.

I have seen Dr. Sobol in the classroom setting, where I know him to be a wealth of information about storytelling and folklore, but this is the first time that I have really seen him tell. Wow!

Who would have thought that Dr. Sobol could become William Butler Yeats, the 6'2'' Irish poet laureate? And to do it in song!?!

Okay, enough gushing. Once I got over the wonder of it all, I was brought back to the reality that we are in an academic setting. Hmm... If I were tasked with scheduling this performance or bringing in Dr. Sobol, with what department would I partner?

Can someone say interdisciplinary? There is so much at work here: from folklore to the written word, from music to balladeering, from history to legend, from storytelling to participation in the story-world itself. It was all over the place in the best kind of way – the way good art defies easy definition.

As I left the black box, I could not help but feel that I had been transported so that I might also say:

“'I am of Ireland,
And the Holy Land of Ireland,
And time runs on,' cried she.
'Come out of charity
And dance with me in Ireland.'”

[perhaps one of the nice things about not having internet for the first few days of class is that – as of this posting on Satuday, July 18^th, the refrain above is still in my head. That's staying power.]

-Bob