manuscript poem with dark ink on beige paper

“The Grief of a Girl’s Heart”

pencil sketches of two men over a printed page from a journal

James Joyce

typed draft of poem with handwritten corrections

The New York Public Library believes that this item is in the public domain under the laws of the United States, but did not make a determination as to its copyright status under the copyright laws of other countries. This item may not be in the public do

Cuchulain of Muirthemne preface draft with revisions

William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)

Cuchulain of Muirthemne preface draft with revisions

[February 1902]

In Dramatis Personae, written after Gregory’s death, Yeats recalled that she was at first “friend and hostess, a centre of peace, an adviser . . . but neither she nor we thought her a possible creator.” With the publication of Cuchulain of Muirthemne, however, “now all in a moment, it seemed, she became the founder of Irish dialect literature.” His preface to the book, praising it as “the best that has come out of Ireland in my time,” lavishly expresses his admiration for her “Kiltartan” style. Given their well-known friendship, however, his praise inevitably invited suspicions of logrolling and was notably mocked by James Joyce in Ulysses.

Holding Division: Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature

Digital Collections: William Butler Yeats collection of papers