So… if you live in London, please mark your calendar. Our Yeats event (for #Yeats2015) is set for the 1st of April.

‘I Am Of Ireland', an evening of poetry and song, will explore what it is to be Irish, in these (we hope!) post-nationalist days.

And especially what it is to be Irish if you don't actually live in Ireland.

Yeats, Ireland's greatest poet, was a long-time Londoner. The inspiration for what is probably his best known poem came about “when walking through Fleet Street very homesick, I heard a little tinkle of water and saw a fountain in a shop-window which balanced a little ball upon its jet, and began to remember lake water. From the sudden remembrance came my poem “Innisfree,” my first lyric with anything in its rhythm of my own music.”

On April 1st, we're inviting musicians, artists and writers who live or work in London and whose work has been inspired in some way by Yeats to come and perform for us on the night.

You may read a poem, recite a story, or play a musical piece that is somehow representative of your relationship with the poet.

The event is in partnership with London Irish Centre, under the auspices of its Arts Officer, Gary Dunne; and supported by the Irish government, through the Department of Diaspora Affairs. And it's for a good cause, in aid of two North London cultural communities with which I'm involved: Creative Cricklewood & Friends of Cricklewood Library.

The evening will include an auction of artefacts donated by Irish artists and writers, an audio recording of Yeats reading his poetry (rights permitting), a recording of Iseult Gonne, appearances by the Ambassador of Ireland to Great Britain Dan Mulhall and poet Aisling Fahey — and many more.It will be my joy on the night to introduce the talented individuals we'll gather.

HOW TO TAKE PART

If you would like to be a part of this special event, it couldn't be simpler. Just send me an email, using the contact form (see envelope, top righthand corner, saying what piece you'd like to read or perform — and most importantly, why. (closing date Feb 14)