Eternity`s Sunrise – The Imaginative World of William Blake - Hardcover

Damrosch, Leo

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0300200676 ISBN 13: 9780300200676

Publisher: Yale University Press, 2015

Synopsis

In this richly illustrated portrait, a prize-winning biographer surveys the entire sweep of William Blake's creative work while telling the story of his life William Blake, overlooked in his time, remains an enigmatic figure to contemporary readers despite his near canonical status. Out of a wounding sense of alienation and dividedness he created a profoundly original symbolic language, in which words and images unite in a unique interpretation of self and society. He was a counterculture prophet whose art still challenges us to think afresh about almost every aspect of experience-social, political, philosophical, religious, erotic, and aesthetic. He believed that we live in the midst of Eternity here and now, and that if we could open our consciousness to the fullness of being, it would be like experiencing a sunrise that never ends. Following Blake's life from beginning to end, acclaimed biographer Leo Damrosch draws extensively on Blake's poems, his paintings, and his etchings and engravings to offer this generously illustrated account of Blake the man and his vision of our world. The author's goal is to inspire the reader with the passion he has for his subject, achieving the imaginative response that Blake himself sought to excite. The book is an invitation to understanding and enjoyment, an invitation to appreciate Blake's imaginative world and, in so doing, to open the doors of our perception.

About this title

Review:

"Leo Damrosch's luminous new book on William Blake forsakes esoteric scholarship and addresses itself to the common reader who is invited to a festive celebration of the great English poet who was also an extraordinary visual artist and a profound and original thinker."--Harold Bloom
This astute, generously illustrated study is an excellent introduction to William Blake. It will help both new and experienced readers to understand Blake as poet, painter, engraver, printer and as a person. Andrew Lincoln, Queen Mary University of London--Andrew Lincoln"

"New York Times Book Review," Editors Choice--New York Times Book Review "Editors Choice ""

[Damrosch] offers this insightful book as an invitation to understanding and enjoyment. . . . The book also includes nearly 100 reproductions with 40 color plates of Blake s stunning artwork. . . . Damrosch succeeds in making a notoriously difficult poet and artist more accessible. . . . His sharp insights clarify both the context and originality of Blake's art, and his passion for Blake's work is often magnetic. Readers who accept Damrosch's generous invitation will better understand and more deeply enjoy the enduring distinctiveness of Blake's vision. Christopher J./i>--Christopher J. Scalia "Weekly Standard ""

Finalist for the 2015 National Book Critics Circle award in the criticism category.--Award"NBCC" (01/22/2016)

Wise and original. Rosie Schaap, "New York Times Magazine"--Rosie Schaap "New York Times Magazine ""

Lucid and absorbing, . . . [with] an attractive hint of a secret passion [and] an unusual sense of ease and intimacy with Blake s work. Michael Wood, New York Times Book Review--Michael Wood "New York Times Book Review ""

"Leo Damrosch s luminous new book on William Blake forsakes esoteric scholarship and addresses itself to the common reader who is invited to a festive celebration of the great English poet who was also an extraordinary visual artist and a profound and original thinker." Harold Bloom
--Harold Bloom"

[An] excellent book, . . . [aiming] to be introductory in the best sense: to help nonspecialists appreciate Blake s profoundly original vision and . . . the symbols in which he conveyed it. . . . Scores of illustrations and color plates give us a small portion of Blake s countless prints, engravings and watercolor designs, and his career is treated with admirable fullness. William Pritchard, Wall Street Journal--William Pritchard "Wall Street Journal ""

New York Times Book Review, Editors Choice--New York Times Book Review "Editors Choice ""

About the Author:

Leo Damrosch is Research Professor of Literature, Harvard University. His previous books include Jonathan Swift: His Life and His World, winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award in biography and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in biography. He lives in Newton, MA.

About this edition

• Publisher: Yale University Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 0300200676
• ISBN 13: 9780300200676
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 288