W.B. Yeats Nobel Prize Centenary
On 19 December 2023, the Embassy of Ireland in Cairo organised an event in partnership with the National Centre for Translation to commemorate the centenary of William Butler Yeats’ Nobel Prize for Literature win in 1923.
Ambassador O’Brien presented an award to Mr. Michael Yacoub, teaching assistant at the English Department at Ain Shams University, for winning the best translation (from English to Arabic) of Yeats’ Nobel Prize lecture.
On receiving the award, Yacoub said:
“Yeats has reminded me that Art should come from the people and should address them. For when I followed along his company’s journey, and their insistence on bringing into being an Irish Theatre telling Irish tales, I thought of my own writings, and our local art production in general. I thought whether this art truly represents us, or whether it merely is canned and imported art. He has also reminded me that there is a time when language should be the goal, and another in which it should only be the medium; and that a true artist knows how to distinguish between both times.”
Ambassador O’Brien’s remarks focused on Yeats’ legacy and the influence of his work in Ireland. She noted:
“While Yeats engaged with the terrible events in Ireland, he was a visionary; stretching his imaginative powers towards versions of a future Ireland that might have wonder and beauty at its core. His words – “The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our sense to grow sharper” – remind us to seek beauty and hope, even in the darkest of moments.”
Ambassador O’Brien commended the National Centre for Translation for standing as a testament to the power of language in bridging divides and fostering a deeper understanding among diverse cultures and countries.
Attendees at the event included a number of Egyptian professors who specialise in Irish and English literature.