On the Boiler
On the Boiler was written by W. B. Yeats in 1938, when he was disillusioned with Irish society, especially with the then current leaders of Ireland. It was also written at the time when he was involved in the Eugenic Society and their notions of degeneration. Yeats was not happy with the first privately printed edition and had all but four copies destroyed. The Cuala Press issued a second edition in the autumn following Yeats's death in January 1939, and used a cover design by his brother, the artist Jack B. Yeats.