Life and Work of George W. Russell
**Events may have been canceled or postponed. Please contact the venue to confirm the event.
Date & Time
Sat, Oct 21 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Address (map)
1407 Chapala Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101
Venue (website)
Institute of World Culture
Mysticism, Imagination and Social Responsibility: The Life and Writings of George William Russell
Saturday, October 21, 2023
2:00 – 4:00 pm (PDT)
Concord Hall, 1407 Chapala St., Santa Barbara, CA
In person and live webcast
Presenter: Kirk Gradin
“I regained memory of the greatest of all wonders in my boyhood, when I lay on the hill of Kilmasheogue and Earth revealed itself to me as a living being, and rock and clay were made transparent so that I saw lovelier and lordlier beings than I had known before, and was made partner in memory of mighty things, happenings in ages long sunken behind time. Though the walls about the psyche have thickened with age and there are many heavinesses piled about it, I still know that the golden age is all about us and that we can, if we will, dispel that opacity and have vision once more of the ancient Beauty.
– From “The Golden Age”, a magical excerpt from “Song and Its Fountain”, a collection of essays by George William Russell
George William Russell (1867–1935), sometimes better known by the pen name “AE”, was a natural mystic, an earnest student and effervescent teacher of Hermetic philosophy, a poet and evocative writer who played a mentoring and inspirational role in the Irish literary renaissance. He was also a keen and compassionate observer of the social and political inequities plaguing the Ireland of his day and a practical idealist who gained international admiration. His efforts to raise the plight of the common man were indefatigable. In part, his activism manifested through his involvement in the Irish Agricultural Organization Society (IAOS) where he served as the primary writer, Assistant Secretary and in-house editor of their influential weekly magazine “Irish Homestead” for nearly 20 years. This forum will attempt a brief overview of his remarkable life and a sampling of his writings (see link below for “The Golden Age”).
The event will be in person and live webcast: https://www.youtube.com/user/IWCinSantaBarbara
On the IWC Channel Homepage, you may select “Videos” to find Zoom presentations, and “Live” to find live-streamed (webcast) events.For more information: www.worldculture.org