Literature Network » William Butler Yeats

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From: Journal of Arts Management, Law and Society
Date: 20000622
Author:Orchard, Robert J.

In a moment of profound frustration, William Butler Yeats once wrote a poem titled, "The Fascination of What's Difficult" (Yeats 1989). It is about putting on plays. I have posted it discreetly on my office wall, behind the phone on which I spend the better part of each day, as a constant reminder that the collaborative arts have always been difficult; obstacles are frequent. But those challenges with a degree of fascination are also energizing.

Although Yeats's poem dwells on the difficulty--"My curse on plays that have to be set up in fifty ways" (Yeats 1965)--his ability ...

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