The Far Tower: Stories For W. B. Yeats

Cover image by John Coulthart

"All Art that is not mere story-telling, or mere portraiture, is symbolic . . . " – W. B. Yeats

Stories of magic and myth, folklore and fairy traditions, the occult and the outré, inspired by the rich mystical world of Ireland’s greatest poet, W. B. Yeats. Swan River Press invited ten contemporary writers to celebrate Yeats’s contributions to the history of the fantastic and supernatural in literature, drawing on his work for their own new and original tales. Each has chosen a phrase from his poems, plays, stories, or essays to herald their own explorations in the esoteric. Alongside their own powerful qualities, the pieces here testify to the continuing resonance of Yeats’s vision in our own time, that deep understanding of the meshing of two worlds and the talismans of old magic.

Contents

• "Introduction" Mark Valentine
• "Under the Frenzy of the Fourteenth Moon" Ron Weighell
• "Daemon Est Deus Inversus" D. P. Watt
• "The Shiftings" Rosanne Rabinowitz
• "Hermit for Hire" Caitriona Lally
• "The Property of the Dead" John Howard
• "Cast a Cold Eye" Timothy J. Jarvis
• "The Messiah of Blackhall Place" Derek John
• "This Crumbling Pageant" Lynda E. Rucker
• "Shadowy Waters" Reggie Oliver"
• The Hosts of the Air" Nina Antonia
• "Contributor Notes"
• "Acknowledgements"

Limited Hardcover