When You Are Old by W. B. Yeats (Manga Style)

My adaptation of Yeats’ 1893 poem, done in the manner of a Japanese manga. The style is a tribute to the beautiful Shojo manga (girls’ comics) created by the “Clamp” collective in the early 90s. The manga-style screentones are by the illustrator and artist Maryse Daniel. Click on images to enlarge.

Find this comic along with 23 other classic poetry adaptations in my upcoming debut book, Poems to See By: A Comic Artist Interprets Great Poetry, to be released on March 31 by Plough Publishing, and now available for pre-order on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Poems-See-Artist-Interprets-Poetry/dp/087486318X
Couverture(1)p1_v2p2_v2p3_v2chibi Yeats and Maud Gonne

46 Responses to When You Are Old by W. B. Yeats (Manga Style)

  1. Pingback: Classic Poems Series: “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe + Poetry Comic Illustrator Julian Peters – Renee LaTulippe – No Water River

  2. Ramazan Saral says:

    This is a lovely illustration though the poem speaks for itself. I am teaching the poem to my poetry class and will show it to my students. I will check your blog in detail later. Thank you for your effort. 🙂

    Like

  3. catfish28 says:

    Just to say that this is so incredibly beautiful. I have always loved this Yeats poem and it has taken on even more meaning since, not so long ago, things ended with my Irish fiancee. The beautiful artwork really brings out the emotion in the poem and it really deserves to be seen by lots of people. Truly lovely.

    Like

  4. John Garanamoo says:

    If ever there was a poem that didn’t need to be illustrated, it’s this one.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. collegealaric11 says:

    You are so versatile in your style; it’s a delight and wonder to see / read your adaptations of poems.
    A poet myself, albeit not yet courageous enough to pursue publication, I would love my lines to be illustrated in such a manner.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Pingback: Poetry comics! “The Adventures of Whitman” illustrated by Dave Morice & “When You Are Old by W. B. Yeats (Manga Style)” illustrated by Julian Peters | Tribrach

  7. Pingback: Poetry Comics! | Iamb: Poetry for Young Adults

  8. Patti says:

    Lovely, lovely!

    Like

  9. Brilliant, and beautifully done. You definitely brought out certain lines in ways that some great readers’ voices did not. You’ve inspired me to record this one and link back to this.

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  10. Pingback: Illustrator Julian Peters Adapts Classic Poetry Into Comics | (The) Absolute

  11. Pingback: Weekly notes July 17 | TaraTara: Weekly notings and doings

  12. YOU. You are absolutely brilliant and your art renditions of some of my favorite poems (this one. Prufrock, the Drunken Boat) are the best thing I’ve seen. In love with your work.

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Pingback: William Butler Yeats & Pop Culture | Irish Studies

  14. Anonymous says:

    I never fully appreciated this poem until reading it here. The manga style brings out the depth of meaning.

    Like

  15. Tayná says:

    I cried. Thanks. This saved my day. I really love this poem and Yeats. And read in this beautiful shoujo art style. Thanks.

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  16. Anonymous says:

    Really beautiful.

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  17. Miss Chili says:

    Absolutely beautifully enchanting rendition of this poem!!!

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  18. Pingback: Comic-book Keats – a new way to prevent the ‘end of poetry’? | No more wriggling out of writing ……

  19. Anonymous says:

    Enchanting!

    Like

  20. Pingback: New and Improved W. B. Yeats Comic! | julian peters comics

  21. Thoroughly enjoyed this, well done Julian. You have another fan in Oz!.

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  22. Pingback: The Rebirth of Classic Literature? | vinitadhondiyal

  23. your capacity to capture the soul of a poem amazes me!

    Like

  24. stilesroad says:

    You got the rhythm of Yeats terrifically. You dealt with his Yeatsian ‘brevity’ with panache ! Loved it.

    Like

  25. Gopali Chakraborty Ghosh says:

    Entrancingly beautiful and engaging

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  26. Anonymous says:

    Lovely!

    Like

  27. barbarainoz says:

    I love Yeats, and this is a fresh and fabulous take on an old favourite…TQ..xx

    Like

  28. Diane G. Paquin says:

    Mr Peters, you have a chameleon heart, or pencil, and art. These humorous and changing skins of yours are very pleasantly entertaining. Thank you, thank you.

    Like

  29. Pingback: Classic Poem Series: "Annabel Lee" by Edgar Allan Poe, plus interview with Poetry Comic Illustrator Julian Peters

  30. Julian, I linked to your site from Renee LaTulippe’s blog NWR (No Water River) and I’m so glad I invited myself in. I love the close up of the eyes, the emotions illustrated gives me such a deep soulful longing. This is really good!

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    • Thanks a lot! Japanese manga eyes are indeed incredibly soulful. In fact it was probably Yeats’ line about the woman’s eyes with “their shadows deep” that gave me the idea of adapting this poem in this particular style.

      Like

  31. This is really beautiful, impressive, exciting! I linked to it on my blog today (the Yeats “Lake Isle of Innisfree” post). So happy to have found your blog!

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