------------------------------ Content-Type: text/plain blake-d Digest Volume 1996 : Issue 21 Today's Topics: Art & Madness Re: Art & Madness Re: Blake sighting/software Urizenic questions Re: Blake sighting/software William Wallace Blake sightings/citings wahu.com's response re Garden of Eden query wahu.com's response re Garden of Eden query Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experience -Reply questions relating to _Milton_--the poem and the opera adapttion New subscriber Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experience -Reply Re: questions relating to _Milton_--the poem and the opera adapttion Re: Ackroyd bio Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experi -Reply Re: questions relating to _Milton_--the poem and the opera adapttion Re: wahu.com's response re Garden of Eden query Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experience -Reply Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experi -Reply SWEDENBORG, COLERIDGE Re: God's Hiddenness & Blake's Obscurity ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 00:18:55 -0500 From: RJCBlues@aol.com To: blake@albion.com Subject: Art & Madness Message-Id: <960325001854_177020100@emout06.mail.aol.com> Just alittle sumth'in bout this madness thing... Plato had an essentially antagonistic view of art and the artist, although he approved of certain religious and moralistic kinds of art. Again, his approach is related to his theory of Forms. A beautiful flower, for example, is a copy or imitation of the universal Forms flowerness and beauty. The physical flower is one step removed from reality, that is, the Forms. A picture of the flower is, therefore, two steps removed from reality. This also meant that the artist is two steps removed from knowledge, and, indeed, Plato's frequent criticism of the artists is that they lack genuine knowledge of what they are doing. Artistic creation, Plato observed, seems to be rooted in a kind of inspired madness. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 09:08:17 -0600 From: jmichael@seraph1.sewanee.edu (J. Michael) To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: Art & Madness Message-Id: <9603251513.AA12425@uu6.psi.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Plato's frequent criticism of the artists is that they lack genuine knowledge >of what they are doing. Artistic creation, Plato observed, seems to be rooted >in a kind of inspired madness. which is why he found it so dangerous. A great teacher of mine used to quote Robert Penn Warren on society's view of poets: "Place garlands on their heads and lead them gently outside the gates of the city." Or something to that effect. (Another version of Coleridge's "Weave a circle round him thrice.") Jennifer Michael ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 11:07:40 CST From: Mark Trevor Smith To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: Blake sighting/software Message-Id: <9603251719.AA22262@uu6.psi.com> Someone recently wrote: >On a recent visit to the High Museum in Atlanta, I noticed in their gift >shop a series of literary software packages aimed at children. One of the >programs was devoted entirely to Blake. The software is produced by a >company called Persimmon and, according to the label, includes sound, games >and other activities as well as (presumably) the texts. The price was $25. > Is anyone familiar with this software? I find it ironic that Blake's own >multimedia efforts are no longer considered sufficient to stimulate the >young, but I want to be informed before I condemn. Much as I hate to use the formula, "Blake would have...," I do think that computer multimedia applications promise to be great vehicles for Blake's kind of art. After all, do we not regret that we have not inherited Blake's music? Now printed words, illuminations, and music can be combined, with extensive cross references. Already many are enjoying Blake's art on WWW. Mark Trevor Smith mts231f@vma.smsu.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 11:05:58 PST From: "Rowena S. Aquino" To: blake@albion.com Subject: Urizenic questions Message-Id: <1219C494FEB@ScrippsCol.Edu> Hello once again. I've been quite out of the list, so to speak, as far as what discussions are going on, but I'm in the process of writing a paper about the separation between Urizen and Los, Los' emanation, Enitharmon, and the creation of Orc, and I need help in understanding. I can't say that I know a lot of Blake to have confidence in my questions, but here goes: what is the significance of Los being portrayed as a smith, with his tools of the hammer and such? Is he marking the seven ages that pass through Urizen? If so, why is Los doing that? What is the girdle that grews around Los' bosom after Orc is conceived? Is it similar to the seven ages that pass through Urizen, the reason attaining flesh, growing, in Los becoming Urizenic himself? Whose jealousy did the Chain of Jealousy originate from? Enitharmon and Los? If they are the principles of creativity to have spawned Orc, what does each signify then? In 7:7, when Urizen awakes , etc., exploring his den and so forth, he divides the Abyss...what is the Abyss? What does this Abyss signify, if anything? I would appreciate any feedback, please. Thank you. Rowena ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 13:12:06 -0600 From: jmichael@seraph1.sewanee.edu (J. Michael) To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: Blake sighting/software Message-Id: <9603251916.AA01316@uu6.psi.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >Much as I hate to use the formula, "Blake would have...," I do think >that computer multimedia applications promise to be great vehicles for >Blake's kind of art. After all, do we not regret that we have not >inherited Blake's music? Now printed words, illuminations, and music >can be combined, with extensive cross references. Already many >are enjoying Blake's art on WWW. > > Mark Trevor Smith mts231f@vma.smsu.edu I agree, and I realize the tone of my original message was unnecessarily Luddite. But at the same time, we've all seen superior and inferior products (Blake and otherwise) out there in cyberspace. So I'll repeat my question: has anyone seen or used this particular product from Persimmon? Jennifer Michael jmichael@seraph1.sewanee.edu ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 14:56:33 CST From: "Edward Friedlander, M.D." To: blake@albion.com Subject: William Wallace Message-Id: I'm the last person in the U.S. to see Braveheart. Mel Gibson doesn't look a THING like William Wallace. I saw the real portrait, as painted by Blake! Thanks for a fine list. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 96 15:09 CST From: MLGrant@president-po.president.uiowa.edu To: blake@albion.com Subject: Blake sightings/citings Message-Id: <199603252116.PAA12863@ns-mx.uiowa.edu> Excerpts from a University of Iowa news release: University Theatres Mainstage will present the world premiere of "Ideas of Good and Evil," a music/theater collaboration of playwright/director Erik Ehn and composer/music director Lisa Bielawa, at 8 p.m. Wed., Apr. 3, in Theatre A of the UI Theatre Bldg. Add'l performances will be at 8 p.m. Apr. 4-6 and 10-13, and at 3 p.m. Sundays, Apr. 7 and 14. "Ideas of Good and Evil" is the 1997 project of Partnership in the Arts, a UI Dept. of Theatre Arts initiative that invites prominent theatrical artists to the UI to create significant new works for the stage in collaboration with UI students, faculty, and staff. Ehn, a member of New Dramatists and the American Conservatory Theatre writers' group, has written more than 10 plays; and Bielawa, in addition to performing internationally as the vocalist of the Philip Glass Ensemble, is the winner of the 1995 ASCAP Young Composers Competition (etc., etc.) Ehn has called "Ideas of Good and Evil," a "circus for the soul." Inspired by a William Blake notebook in which the artist meditated on the nature of morality, the trio of musical one-acts is a fantasia on the cosmic interplay of opposites. "It is Blake's theory, and it's one I have sympathy with, that opposities live very happily and inevitably and constructively together," Ehn says. "In It" presents two perspectives on sorrow (etc.) "Some Small Rooms," based on Blake's poem "The Marraiage of Heaven and Hell," depicts a man who is morally inert--unable to experience the difference between good and evil. And in "Phrenic Crush," set in S.F. immediately after WWII, a Filipino woman tries to protect her husband's career by concealing the fact that she is afflicted with tuberculosis. The production was influenced by what Ehn describes as Blake's "obnoxiousness, just his provound cantankerousness and playfulness." "He was constantly arguing with the status quo," Ehn observes. "He was a conservative in a reactionary sense on some fronts, and he was a great social and stylistic visionary in other regares. So, in living in his neighborhood, you are given a great deal of freedom; you are prodded to a kind of playful rage that is a good place to create out of." (etc.,etc.,etc.) Tickets $13 ($6 for students and sr. citizens). ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 15:35:51 -0800 (PST) From: Matthew J Dubuque To: blake@albion.com Subject: wahu.com's response re Garden of Eden query Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Please reference your comment re the "difference" between good and evil. If you read the relevant passages in Genesis that Blake refers to in his recapitulation of Adam and Eve's fateful decision,you find that the forbidden fruit is indeed the fruit of the knowledge of the DIFFERENCE between good and evil. Bateson's point (and I believe Blake's as well) is that ascertaining the difference between good and evil may not be readily performed by rational Newtonioan, Cartesian, or Manichean false dichotomous description. We don't live in an "either/or" world. We live in a "both/and" world. This math has been formally modeled by Francisco Varela, renowned mathematician from Mexico City. I suggest you look up the exact language in Genesis. It's a a non-trivial point. virtual@leland.stanford.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 96 02:47 EST From: "Elisa E. Beshero 814 862-8914" To: blake@albion.com Subject: wahu.com's response re Garden of Eden query Message-Id: <9603260749.AA13548@uu6.psi.com> I'm sorry to be obtusely ignorant, but could Matthew Dubuque explain what he means by the math that has formally demonstrated that we live in a both/and world? In what way is math applicable to morality? Also, (and again, I am certain that this question will expose my ignorance to the world, but I'm driven to ask it anyway)-- What exactly are you saying that Blake's point is in "The Poison Tree"? Are you saying that the poison apple is a religion that attempts to distinguish between good and evil? Or am I reading too much into your response? Precisely why is the exact language of Genesis so important to this discussion? Finally, is the renown of Francisco Varela or his math more important to drive home your point? "Bring out number weight & measure in a year of dearth." --Elisa - - The original note follows - - Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1996 15:35:51 -0800 (PST) From: Matthew J Dubuque To: blake@albion.com Subject: wahu.com's response re Garden of Eden query Resent-From: blake@albion.com Reply-To: blake@albion.com Please reference your comment re the "difference" between good and evil. If you read the relevant passages in Genesis that Blake refers to in his recapitulation of Adam and Eve's fateful decision,you find that the forbidden fruit is indeed the fruit of the knowledge of the DIFFERENCE between good and evil. Bateson's point (and I believe Blake's as well) is that ascertaining the difference between good and evil may not be readily performed by rational Newtonioan, Cartesian, or Manichean false dichotomous description. We don't live in an "either/or" world. We live in a "both/and" world. This math has been formally modeled by Francisco Varela, renowned mathematician from Mexico City. I suggest you look up the exact language in Genesis. It's a a non-trivial point. virtual@leland.stanford.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 11:14:36 +0200 From: P Van Schaik To: blake@albion.com, kerze@oxy.edu Subject: Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experience -Reply Message-Id: You may, if you enjoy exploring the hiddenness of God, find T.S. Eliot's evocation of the children, playing hide-and-seek in the garden in The Four Quartets relevant. For Blake, a god who veils himself in mystery and insists on subduing energies to severe moral laws is anathema, as suggested in Nobodaddy - he is the creator of the `maze of folly' from which Blake hopes to lead us with his `golden string'. Having said which, there is nevertheless some pleasure, doubtless, for all of us mortals in trying to find our own individual way out of the `maze' and behind the `veils'! Pam van Schaik, Unisa ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 10:26:59 -0500 (EST) From: Kari Kraus To: blake@albion.com Subject: questions relating to _Milton_--the poem and the opera adapttion Message-Id: <199603261527.KAA21090@uhura.cc.rochester.edu> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I joined this list in January or February, but haven't yet introduced myself. My name is Kari Kraus, and I have been tackling Blake's _Milton_ since January within the context of Morris Eaves' graduate seminar devoted entirely to this illuminated text. I have a couple of questions to which I hope list members will and can respond. First, I understand that an opera adaptation of _Milton_ is in the works. Could someone out there involved with the project update us in some detail as to its progress? I noticed that Dana Harden (I believe I have the name right) made a passing reference to the opera a few days ago. I realize that those of you who have been on this list for quite some time are already familiar with the project. I hope my request for an "update" will elicit information that is of interest to the group in general as well as a new list member like myself. Specifically, I'd like to know if work on the opera is centralized in some particular geographic location, or if the collaborators are dispersed around the country (or even internationally). Second, I have a question pertaining to the preface of _Milton_ (Bentley, _Blake Books_ Plate 2 ), which Copy C, the copy reproduced for the Essick and Viscomi edition, does not contain. I understand that lines 27-42, forming a coherent lyric frequently called "Jerusalem," were set to music in 1916 by Sir Charles Hubert Parry (as E&V note). This rendition, as various commentators have observed, was embraced by the national church. What I find even more surprising is Stuart Curran's claim that the Fabian socialists adopted the song as their own, which he says (writing in 1969) "is still sung in the industrial towns of England" ("Detecting the Existential Blake" _BS_ 2: 68). Unfortunately, Curran does not cite a source for this. I unsystematically checked the indices of several histories of the Fabian society and found no reference to Blake. Does anyone have any suggestions as to where I might find out more about this? I believe I also read somewhere that a Women's group also unofficially adopted the song, though I can't provide further details. What did these groups find in the lyric that was congenial to or compatible with their respective agendas? Thanks in advance for your help, Kari Kraus University of Rochester ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 16:05:44 +0000 (GMT) From: Cerebral Pasty To: blake@albion.com Subject: New subscriber Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII Hello everybody, My name's Stuart and I'm a third year undergrad at Oxford Uni, England, studying Blake for my Final exams. That doesn't necessarily mean I'm hopelessly intense about everything, but I do come at him in quite a lit.crit. way. Looking forward to reading other people's ideas...... STuart (other interests: playing guitar/ songwriting/ eating / sleeping) ============================================================================== Cerebral Pasty: sedm0336@sable.ox.ac.uk Celebrating 25 glorious years as sand-pit to the stars "I'm fat and round and cannot move!" ============================================================================== ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 08:27:32 -0800 (PST) From: Michael Kerze To: P Van Schaik Cc: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experience -Reply Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII What occurs to me with Blake and with other figures of the "hidden God" tradition is that the mystery of God or the hiddeness in which he cloaks himself is not so much for domination but to escape the domination of religious systems. Meister Eckhart summed it up best in a sermon where he says: "I pray God quit me of God!" Even the smallest thought, he says, is as big as God because it occupies the space God would fill if we would empty ourselves of all artifice, all ideas. In this process of emptying, one might reach the point where the ceature is being continually ceated by the creator--a point or boundary where God is God. This point of continual creation is the eternal generation of the Son in the soul. Creativity, if I understand Eckhart, is a partaking of the divine energy. It reminds me of Blake's line in Jerusalem (?) that the human imagination is the body of Christ. On the other hand, Eckhart is preaching a sermon, a liturgical form of speech, which means that he is addressing a congregation during a religious service, most likely the mass. There you have the religious system in its most embodied form. Here one might encounter the paradox of the sacred: the holy always escapes systemization but nonetheless finds permanent presence in a society or culture through a system. The prophet rails against its domestication after having been raised in a household of the domesticated holy. I see Blake presenting, like Eckhart, the potency of the "God behind God," in a creative elaboration of an apophatic tradition. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 12:15:54 -0500 (EST) From: Nelson Hilton To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: questions relating to _Milton_--the poem and the opera adapttion Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII In fn. 1 to her "`In Englands green & pleasant Land': The Building of Vision in Blake's Stanza from _Milton_" (_SiR_ 13 [1974], 105-125), Nancy Goslee reports that "the hymn has been claimed as an anthem ... by the Fabian Society...." and cites Curran and also F. W. Bateson, _English Poetry: A Critical Introduction_, 2nd ed. NY: Barnes and Noble, 1966, pp. 8-9. See also Samuel J. Rogal, "Blake's `And did those feet' as Congregational Hymn," _The Hymn_ 44.3 (July 1993): 22-25. Hope this helps! Nelson Nelson Hilton -=- English -=- University of Georgia -=- Athens Was ist Los? "Net of Urizen" or "Jerusalem the Web"? http://virtual.park.uga.edu/~wblake ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 13:53:54 -0500 (EST) From: John William Axcelson To: blake@albion.com Cc: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: Ackroyd bio Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII The Peter Ackroyd bio of Blake has now been published in the US by Knopf. This American edition appeared on the shelves of NYC bookstores this weekend. I didn't notice the cost, but the English edition sports much nicer artwork on the jacket. John Axcelson Assistant Dean Adj. Asst. Prof. Columbia University 110 Hartley Hall (212) 854-7307 jwa2@columbia.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 15:02:08 -0600 From: jmichael@seraph1.sewanee.edu (J. Michael) To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experi -Reply Message-Id: <9603262106.AA07723@uu6.psi.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >You may, if you enjoy exploring the hiddenness of God, find T.S. Eliot's >evocation of the children, playing hide-and-seek in the garden in The >Four Quartets relevant. For Blake, a god who veils himself in mystery >and insists on subduing energies to severe moral laws is anathema, as >suggested in Nobodaddy - he is the creator of the `maze of folly' from >which Blake hopes to lead us with his `golden string'. Having said >which, there is nevertheless some pleasure, doubtless, for all of us >mortals in trying to find our own individual way out of the `maze' and >behind the `veils'! > >Pam van Schaik, Unisa Nobodaddy indeed creates the maze of folly, but Blake creates the maze of _Jerusalem_ that the "golden string" is supposed to lead us *into* or through. My question: Since Blake abhors mystery, why is he so damn hard to read? Please don't interpret this as the flippant complaint of a neophyte: I have been studying Blake for over eight years, and this difficulty is part of what keeps me working on him, as well as the pleasure that I, too, get from working my way through the maze. I don't mean to support those early critics who lamented Blake's departure from the "pure simplicity" of lyric to the "obscure madness" of the prophetic books, for, as we've amply demonstrated on this list, the Songs themselves are far from transparent. But the question of difficulty remains. Is it Blake's effort to find "fit audience, though few"? Is there a serious answer to the question? Jennifer Michael jmichael@seraph1.sewanee.edu ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 19:53:36 -0500 From: WaHu@aol.com To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: questions relating to _Milton_--the poem and the opera adapttion Message-Id: <960326195334_178736966@emout07.mail.aol.com> Frye somewhere talks about the song--- it was adopted by the Labour Party-- and sung at the wonderful victory over Churchill in the elections of 1945. If it was the Fabians who first used it, that sounds like Bernard Shaw to me, as he was the only one of that pack who knew Blake (and Shaw knew Blake pretty well)Shaw also knew music, and was a great admirer of Salvation Army Street Singers and musicians (see Major Barbara);besides, it's a beautiful song, and lends itself to both an airy-fairy feel good lefty interpretation and a righty pious poophead lil'england reading as well. For a treatment of what happens to literary phrases and so forth when they enter a larger arena, for instance as titles of novels (Gone with the Wind is what? Arthur Symons?) I think there is a John Hollander article somewhere. And I have seen other articles as well, will try to remember what and where.... Hugh Walthall wahu@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 26 Mar 1996 19:53:39 -0500 From: WaHu@aol.com To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: wahu.com's response re Garden of Eden query Message-Id: <960326195338_178737005@mail02.mail.aol.com> all I know is active evil is better than passive good. And as for inviting me to biblical exegesis....not on the first date, okay? Like the valley girl said, I don't do languages without vowels, okay? oooh, talking snakes? that's totally weird. anyway, I'm like on this fruit only diet. It's great. Want an apple? As for mathematically proving G not E....I would again point to the Beckett Poem Whoroscope where one of his notes to the text of the poem is : He proves God by exhaustion. viva la diferance. Hugh Walthall wahu@aol.com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 01:09:05 -0600 (CST) From: hmm To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experience -Reply Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Tue, 26 Mar 1996, Michael Kerze wrote: > On the other hand, Eckhart is preaching a sermon, a liturgical form of > speech, which means that he is addressing a congregation during a > religious service, most likely the mass. There you have the religious > system in its most embodied form. Here one might encounter the paradox > of the sacred: the holy always escapes systemization but nonetheless > finds permanent presence in a society or culture through a system. The > prophet rails against its domestication after having been raised in a > household of the domesticated holy. I see Blake presenting, like > Eckhart, the potency of the "God behind God," in a creative elaboration > of an apophatic tradition. > > It's interesting how much art is like this. Poetry is a perfectly good example. Poetry's in danger of becoming about as institutionalized as it can get. Readings resemble church services. The silence has gone beyond respectful to reverent. In a way, music is like this -- certain "rules" apply at concerts, be they country, jazz, classical, or rock, that are obversed with almost religious care. Look at Blake himself -- a radical visionary to whom entire classes are devoted... I'd be interested in hearing comments, if it wouldn't be too off-topic.. m c647749@showme.missouri.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 01:16:35 -0600 (CST) From: hmm To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: Question: God's Hiddeness and Songs of Experi -Reply Message-Id: Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII On Tue, 26 Mar 1996, J. Michael wrote: > > Nobodaddy indeed creates the maze of folly, but Blake creates the maze of > _Jerusalem_ that the "golden string" is supposed to lead us *into* or > through. My question: Since Blake abhors mystery, why is he so damn hard > to read? Please don't interpret this as the flippant complaint of a > neophyte: I have been studying Blake for over eight years, and this > difficulty is part of what keeps me working on him, as well as the pleasure > that I, too, get from working my way through the maze. I don't mean to > support those early critics who lamented Blake's departure from the "pure > simplicity" of lyric to the "obscure madness" of the prophetic books, for, > as we've amply demonstrated on this list, the Songs themselves are far from > transparent. But the question of difficulty remains. Is it Blake's effort > to find "fit audience, though few"? Is there a serious answer to the > question? > > Jennifer Michael > jmichael@seraph1.sewanee.edu It's a valid question, not a flippant remark. I mentioned Blake as an academic subject in my last post (partially as a complaint), but the fact of the matter is, a class is almost a necessity to understanding him. However, in all seriousness, I think Blake expressed himself in the clearest way he could -- his visions, mythology, and symbolism are complex in their conception. I think the progression of his mythology through his works shows to a degree that his concepts didn't make complete sense to him all the time. I think there were times when he struggled with what he saw as much as we do. m c647749@showme.missouri.edu ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 09:28:33 -0800 (PST) From: Ralph Dumain To: blake@albion.com Subject: SWEDENBORG, COLERIDGE Message-Id: <199603271728.JAA16712@igc4.igc.apc.org> The book I bought last night is the same as the one Matt Fabian obtained a few weeks ago: BLAKE AND SWEDENBORG: OPPOSITION IS TRUE FRIENDSHIP. Normally I would avoid such literature like the plague, especially anything involving the loathsome Kathleen Raine, but my excuse is, it only cost $4, and I might need to know something about Swedenborg. The editors of this volume are apparently devoid of a sense of irony, for the very quotations from Blake and Swedenborg that are juxtaposed to demonstrate their similarity actually demonstrate something very different. I love people who give me the rope to hang them with. One can use this very book to undermine the big lie that underwrites it. The two articles of interest to me in this volume are Morton Paley's "'A New Heaven is Begun': Blake and Swedenborgianism", and "New Light on C.A. Tulk, Blake's 19th Century Patron" by Raymond H. Deck, Jr. >From Paley I learned about Swedenborg's opposition to slavery and the influence of Swedenborg on "The Little Black Boy." The presence of Samuel Taylor Coleridge haunts this book, and he is used to justify the affinity between Blake and Swedenborg, starting with the back cover and preface. Perhaps if I had consulted BLAKE RECORDS, I would be less confused about the direct relationship between Blake and Coleridge. Deck cites Robinson show that Blake and Coleridge actually met. Deck attributes to Tulk the following statement, which I have quoted before: "Blake and Coleridge, when in company, seemed like congenial beings of another sphere, breathing for awhile on our earth; which may easily be perceived from the similarity of thought pervading their works." (p. 113) I don't believe this assertion for one second, though Deck finds Tulk credible. If this is all the evidence we have to go on regarding the congeniality of the two, we can safely dismiss it. I see the Swedenborg Foundation has made a film, "Blake: The Marriage of Heaven and Hell." I wonder whether this is any good. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 27 Mar 1996 14:18:29 -0500 From: TomD3456@aol.com To: blake@albion.com Subject: Re: God's Hiddenness & Blake's Obscurity Message-Id: <960327141828_257404817@emout05.mail.aol.com> Re Pam van Schaik's remarks about Eckhart and Blake: Another relevant passage is to be found in Coleman Barks's "The Essential Rumi," where he describes the Sufis view of this world, which they call "The Tavern": "In the tavern are many wines -- the wine of delight in color and form and taste, the wine of the intellect's agility, the fine port of stories.... Being human means entering this place where entrancing varieties of desire are served. ... "But after some time in the tavern, a point comes, a memory of elsewhere, a longing for the source, and the drunks must set off from the tavern and begin the return.... The tavern is a kind of glorious hell that human beings enjoy and suffer and then push off from in their search for truth. ..." "A glorious hell" strikes me as a very fine description, and very much akin to the Winepress of Blake's Milton. -Tom Devine -------------------------------- End of blake-d Digest V1996 Issue #21 *************************************