June 16 may be the most famous day in the Irish literary calendar, but three days earlier Yeatsians everywhere mark the birth of the Nobel laureate. And so, on Wednesday, June 13, at 6 p.m., in celebration of his 153rd birthday, the W.B. Yeats Society of NY will present a film and a literary dinner at the National Arts Club at Gramercy Park. The film is “A Fanatic Heart: Bob Geldof on W.B. Yeats,” a 103-minute television documentary, which the Spectator’s reviewer described as “one of the best literary docs I’ve seen.” In the process of arguing that Yeats was not only the greatest poet of the 20th century but a founder of modern Ireland, the rock-n-roller visits the places where the poet grew up, lived and wrote about. Geldof gathers commentary from leading lights of Irish culture, including Colm Tóibín, Edna O'Brien, Joseph O'Connor and Yeats biographer R.F. Foster, who co-wrote the film. There are more than 30 readings of Yeats poetry by such people as Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Colin Farrell, Shane McGowan, Bono, Noel Gallagher, Van Morrison and Sting. The dinner ($65): crazy salad, choice of Christie Mahon’s burstin’ chicken (with Sommerville and Ross potato pancake and Innisfree green beans almondine) or Mary Lavin shepherd’s pie, Aengus apple strudel, with glass of wine, coffee, tea. For more information about this and other events, go to yeatssociety.org.
