While best known for his poetry, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was also a dedicated exponent of Irish folklore who took a particular interest in the tales' mythic and magical roots. He was, in fact, a ceremonial magician and leader in the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, one of the most important esoteric orders in the Western magical tradition. Yeats' influence on other occultists imparted a decidedly Celtic flavor to their practices, just as The Celtic Twilight drew a wider audience to the eerie and puckish world of fairies, ghosts, and spirits. Its title refers to the pre-dawn hours, when the Druids performed their rituals; and the work serves as an affirmation of Yeats' belief in magic as a doorway to the Celtic past. "This handful of dreams," as the author referred to it, first appeared in 1893, and consists of stories recounted to the poet by his friends, neighbors, and acquaintances. Yeats' faithful transcription of their narratives includes his own visionary experiences, appended to the storytellers' words as a form of commentary.