THIS ENCHANTED ISLE
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,History & Criticism
THIS ENCHANTED ISLE Details
The various strands of Britain's mystical and mythological heritage have been inspirational throughout the ages. With a call to re-enchant the world, the author discusses such visionaries as Blake and the alchemist Dr Dee, challenging nihilism with the survival of the sacred in art.
Reviews
What is the spirit of place?In this rich & fascinating volume, Peter Woodcock takes us on a brief but illuminating tour of Albion, as expressed by artists, poets, novelists, filmmakers, and dreamers & prophets. Beginning with the genius of William Blake, he introduces us to successive generations of painters & artists, many of whom were new to me, each of whom offered a distinct & mythic vision of England. He reaches from such luminous films as "A Canterbury Tale" & "Great Expectations" in the 1940s, to the challenging films of Derek Jarman in the 1980s. He explores the primal landscapes & mysteries of Arthur Machen, the mystical psyche & poetic prose of John Cowper Powys in "A Glastonbury Romance" & "Wolf Solent," the landscape of ley lines & legend mapped by John Michell.Connecting everything is the shimmering thread of the Neo-Romantic Vision, sometimes golden, sometimes steeped in darkness, which could also be found in the work of such musicians as Nick Drake, and the great English Romantics. It's a vision of deeper meaning, of art as spiritual revelation. And it's a vision of life as something whole, greater than the sum of its parts, offering purpose & transcendent awakening to a populace battered by brute political power, insatiable materialism, and merciless alienation.This is not the utilitarian, reductionist worldview of the technocratic state. Nor is it the psychological & spiritual straitjacket of the fundamentalist. It's a view of Being as Possibility, as Growth, as Wholeness. And for that very reason, of course, it's a threat to any authoritarian mind. All the more reason & necessity for its pursuit!Here you'll find an excellent starting point for exploration of your own. Any of the creative artists referenced in these pages is well worth investigating in depth. Highly recommended!
