ABSTRACT
The title of this introductory essay is drawn from the memoirs of the Nobel prize-winning Irish poet, playwright and senator, William Butler Yeats. In a journal entry from 1909, he famously described a poet as “a good citizen turned inside out.” Artistry and academia are “turned inside out” in this collection of essays and artistic interludes about the changing relationship between artists and the academy. The book is grounded in the story of an advanced educational institution called the Irish World Academy of Music and Dance at the University of Limerick in Ireland. Founded in 1994, the Academy developed a distinctive model of performing arts education, bringing the artist into the heart of academia. This introductory essay is divided into three sections. The first section presents a review of the historical relationship between the artist and academia. This is followed by a brief diversion into the many meanings the phrase “inside out.” These usages are harnessed as framing devices to introduce the book's core ideas. The final section presents the structure and content of the collection and concludes with a discussion on the many possible futures of the artist in academia.
