The National Library of Ireland has left 250 anthologies of poetry by WB Yeats in various public places around Dublin to encourage people to enjoy the poet's work.
The books have been left on trains, buses, counters and park benches and in pubs, hotels and cafes. They are labelled with an invitation to enjoy the work of the poet and a request to leave the book in another public place for someone else to pick up.
The idea has been inspired by the "book crossing" concept, an American phenomenon that began in 2001 and has spread worldwide.
Almost a half a million books have been released in this way and more than 146,000 people have become members of Book Crossing worldwide.
Each of the Yeats books has a unique code. Readers can log their discovery and comments on the National Library's website, www.nli.ie/yeats. This log will follow the books' journey as they travel around Ireland and abroad.
The book crossing concept is part of the National Library's summer focus on Yeats, which includes an exhibition, readings and workshops.
The poet is enjoying a small renaissance in the US, following an episode of the popular Sopranos programme which showed Tony Soprano's son, Anthony jnr, reading The Second Coming in a moment of self-reflection.
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