Restoring paradise
Subtitle: Western esotericism, literature, art, and consciousness
By: Arthur Versluis.
Series: SUNY series in Western esoteric traditions
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Published: 2004
Place of publication: Albany
Language: eng
Number of pages: 174
Subjects: Occultism -- History.; Occultism in literature.; Occultism in art.
Description: "Focusing on how spiritual initiation takes place in Western esoteric religious, literary, and artistic traditions from antiquity to the present, Restoring Paradise provides an introduction to Western esotericism, including early modern esoteric movements like alchemy, Christian theosophy, and Rosicrucianism. The author argues that European and American literature and art often entail a written transmission of spiritual knowledge in which writing itself works to transmute consciousness, to generate, provoke, or convey spiritual awakening. He focuses on several important figures whose work has not received the attention it deserves, including American writer and Imagist poet H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) and British painter Cecil Collins, among others."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-174) and index.