Annual since the creation of the International Yeats Society (IYS) in 2015, the IYS Conferences and Symposia are specialized events dedicated to the most innovative research in the world about the work, life, context, and reception of the Irish writer W. B. Yeats (1865-1939), whose centenary of the Literature Nobel Award has just been celebrated. One of the greatest authors in world literature, Yeats has inspired research since before his death, leading to varied academic production. He is also the focus of the oldest Summer School dedicated to a single author worldwide, which has taken place every year in Sligo since its foundation in 1960. While the Yeats Summer School offers lectures with stand-out names in the field and seminars to students from all levels, the IYS Conferences look to foster new research and circulate academic knowledge internationally and that is why they are itinerant, having already taken place in three different continents: North America, Europe, and Asia. This year, the Conference comes to South America for the first time. The theme for 2024, "Conjuring Yeats", connects the author the history of our land, the Região dos Inconfidentes [the Conspirators’ region] and the Conjuração Mineira [Minas Gerais Conjuration], in an analogy to Yeats's participation in separatist movements in Ireland, just as the various oaths and swearing into other cultural, para-political and even occultist organizations. "Conjuring" is also doing magic, something in which Yeats was very engaged as a mystic. As an advanced studies event, the Conference has as its main goal to congregate specialists in the author and in themes related to him, including master and doctorate students. The selection of speakers considers gender equity and geographical dispersion both in nationality and in country of work (Irish, British, Indian, and South African, besides Brazilian, active in Finland and many regions in Brazil). Although most events feature less than a hundred attendees presenting, we look for wider public engagement by promoting actions that precede our event, as well as through publications and other productions resulting from it.
