Category Archives: Literary Criticism

The Avant-Garde is an Old Man!

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Daniel

Every writer aspiring to break new literary ground has been rattled by that old chestnut from Ecclesiastes: What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. And yet … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, Australian Literature, British Literature, Essays, Literary Criticism, Literature | Tagged 1920s, 1950s, 19th century france, 20th Century Literature, Adorno, Apollinaire, Aragon, Artaud, avant garde, beat generation, Beats, Benjamin, books., Breton, Brion Gysin, Calvino, Charles Baudelaire, Chekhov, Clement Greenberg, Conrad, Corso, Cryptogram, dada, DH Lawrence, Dreamscape, Dujardin, Ecclesiastes, Edgar Allan Poe, experimental literature, Ezra Pound, Faulkner, fiction, Frankfurt School, Free Association, Freud, Fuentes, Garcia Marquez, Ginsberg, Hamsun, Heine, Henry James, Holderlin, Horkheimer, Hybridity, Interior Monologue, Joyce, Kerouac, Kitsch, Lamantia, Laurence Stern, Lipogram, Literature, Lost Generation, Magic Realism, Magic Surrealism, Mansfield, Novalis, Novels, Oscar Wilde, Oulipo, palindrome, Perec, Peter Burger, poetry, Post Modernism, post modernity, post-modern, post-structuralism, Prose, prose and poetry, prose poem, Prose poetry, Proust, Quenau, Renato Poggioli, Rosalind Krauss, Soupault, Stream of Consciousness, Surrealism, TS Eliot, Vanguard, William Burroughs, William James, Woolf, writing | Leave a comment

‘Jesus Christ, that’s a lot of Novels!’ – A Cross-section of Blasphemetic Fiction

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Daniel

The fictions of Jesus the Christ have become many in number, multiplying like the loaves and the fishes at Bethsaida. In that they were pseudepigraphical accounts and written up two to three centuries after the events depicted, the gospels could … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, British History, British Literature, Esoteric, Essays, Literary Criticism, Literature, Reviews | Tagged A.J. Langguth, Albert Schweitzer, American fiction, Angela Hunt, Anita Mason, Anthony Burgess, Apocrypha, Astral Plane, Ben Hur, Benito Perez Galdos, Bible, bishop irenaeus, Bishop Ireneus, Blasphemy, British fiction, Bruno Bauer, Buddhism, Channeling, Chris Hill, Chris Moore, Christendom, Christianity, Coptic, coptic gospels, Cyberpunk, D.H. Lawrence, Dan Brown, David Strauss, Dead Sea Scrolls, Decetisicm, Early Church, Ebionite, Elaine Pagels, Eqyptology, Ernest Renan, esoteric, feminism, fiction, Frank Yerby, Friedrich Ghillany, Gabriel Meyer, George Moore, Gerd Theissen, Gerhart Hauptmann, gnostic gospel of thomas, gnosticism, Gore Vidal, Gospel of Thomas, Gospels, Grail, Hagiography, Hebrew, Heresy, Historical Jesus, History, Holy Blood, Hugh Schonfield, infancy gospels, Isis, issus, James Carse, James Morrow, Jeremy Robinson, Jesus Christ, Jim Crace, John, Jose Saramago, Judaism, Karl Barth, Last Temptation of Christ, Lew Wallace, Life of Brian, Liz Green, Luke, Magic, Magick, Marcionism, Mark, Marrianne Fredriksson, Martin Scorsese, Mary Magdalene, Master Jesus, Matthew, Messiah, Michael Baigent, Michael Moorcock, Michele Roberts, Mikhail Bulgakov, Monty Python, Morton Smith, mysticism, mythology, Nag Hammadi, Nazarene, Nikos Katantzakis, Nino Ricci, Norman Mailer, Nostradamus, Novels, Occult, Orthodox, pagan, Par Lagerkvist, Passion Plays, Paul Park, Religion, Richard Muller, Robert Graves, Roman History, Saints, Saviour, Shasaku Endo, Sholem Asch, Simon Magus, Skylight Press, Taylor Caldwell, Testament, Theodore Sturgeon, Theodore Ziolwolski, Theology, Theosophy, Time Travel, Western Mystery Tradition, Wilton Barnhardt, Yeshua, Zoroastrianism | 3 Comments

A Review of Stoning the Devil on The Feminist Wire

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Daniel

The following is a short snippet of Jill Di Donato’s review of Stoning the Devil by Garry Craig Powell, published by The Feminist Wire on April 10, 2013. The full review, entitled Western Novelist Paints a Racy Portrait of Middle Eastern … Continue reading →

Posted in British Literature, Literary Criticism, Literature, Recommended reads, Reviews | Tagged Arab, Arab culture, Beyonce, Book Review, British fiction, British Literature, British Novel, colonial perspective, Experimental novel, feminism, Feminist, fiction, Frank O'Conor Award, Garry Craig Powell, Gulf, Islam, Jill Di Donato, Lena Dunham, middle eastern culture, middle eastern women, middle-east, Muslim, novel, novel in stories, politics, Sex and violence, Short Stories, Stoning the Devil, The Feminist Wire, UAE, United Arab Emirates, Women | Leave a comment

What Skylight Authors are Reading

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Daniel

It’s always fascinating to see what writers read, where they find sustenance and inspiration for their own work. A few Skylight authors have graciously agreed to let us in on what they are currently reading, whether for guilty pleasure or … Continue reading →

Posted in American Literature, Australian Literature, British History, British Literature, Esoteric, Literary Criticism, Literature, Recommended reads | Tagged 13th Century, Alan Richardson, Aldous Huxley, Alex Owen, Allen Mandelbaum, Andre Lebey, Andrew Joron, Andrew Loog Oldham, Anna Lanyon, Antonio Tabucchi, Antony Beevor, Apollinaire, Arthuriad, Arthurian Legends, Aztec, Bachelard, Barbara Pym, Bin Ramke, Bolano, Bombay, books., Borges, Brian Lucas, British Literature, Celtic, Celtic Myth, Cesar Vallejo, China Mieville, Chris Daniels, Chris Hill, Christopher Middleton, Ciaran Carson, Clark Coolidge, conquest of gaul, Creole, Daniel Staniforth, Dante, David Mitchell, Dean Radin, Demosthenes Agrafiotis, Dion Fortune, Divine Comedy, Druids, Elaine Pagels, Eleni Stecopoulous, Elizabeth Robinson, Emily Toder, faery, Faery Lore, feminism, French, G. M. Fraser, Gabriele D'Annunzio, Galahad, Gareth Knight, Garry Craig Powell, Gaul, Gawain, George Devine, Gettysburg, Giuseppe di Lampedusa, Gordon Strong, Grail Hallows, Greek Mythology, H.L. Mencken, Hindu, holy grail, Hugh Fox, imminent publication, Indonesia, irish, Jack Collom, Jack Schaeffer, Jeet Thayil, John Matthews, John Sakkis, John Woodhouse, Joseph Noble, julius caesar, Julius Ceasar, Karen Ralls, Kathleen Raine, Kirk Marshall, Laird Hunt, Latin America, Leonora Carrington, Lissa Wolsak, Literature, Longinus, Lucretius, Margaret Randall, Maya, Mayan History, mediaeval, Medieval, Melusine, Mexico, Michael Crichton, Michael D. Coe, Michael Flatt, Michael Ladeen, Michael Palma, Modernism, Moon Magic, Murakami, Murilo Mendez, music, Nicholas Kilmer, Nicholas Rawson, Noah Eli Gordon, Normandi Ellis, Occult, Oscar Lewis, Pablo Neruda, Perceval, Peter Akroyd, Portugal, Pre-Reconstruction, R.J. Stewart, R.S. Loomis, Rebecca Seiferle, Rebecca Wilby, Richard Froude, Ricoeur, Rikki Ducornet, rite of pan, Robert Kloss, Roberto Calasso, Roman, Romance, Rupert Copping, Rushdie, Sam Thompson, Samuel Beckett, Sea Priestess, Seth Landman, Skylight Press, Sonali Deraniyagala, Spanish, SpringGun Press, Steven Johnson, T.A. Jenkins, Taiye Selasi, Templars, Tennyson, Terence McKenna, Thailand, vercingetorix, Victorian, W.A. Nitze, Welsh, William Blake, William Carlos Williams, William Pitt Root, Wings Press, World War Two | Leave a comment

Guest Blog by Gordon Strong: James Joyce – Myth as Narrative

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Daniel

…a brave man would invent something that never happened! Joyce In both Ulysses, Portrait of the Artist and the prototype of the latter – Stephen Hero – Joyce is concerned with the presenting of ‘truth’. Not only is … Continue reading →

Posted in British Literature, Essays, Literary Criticism, Literature, Recommended reads | Tagged Aristotle, books., British Literature, British Novel, Charles Tart, Dublin, Dubliners, Edwardian History, experimental literature, F.H. Bradley, fiction, Fred Alan Wolf, Gordon Strong, Greek Drama, Irish history, Irish literature, James Joyce, Literature, Michael Davis, Mikhail Bakhtin, Modernism, Myth, mythology, novel, philosophy, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Richard Kearney, Stephen Hero, T.S. Eliot, Tolkien, Ulysses, Victorian History, Werner Heisenberg | 1 Comment

The Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend by Gareth Knight

Posted on December 19, 2012 by Daniel

The Secret Tradition in Arthurian Legend is the first of two important Gareth Knight reissues to come out this month, to be shortly followed by Magical Images and the Magical Imagination. On the one hand it is a remarkable study … Continue reading →

Posted in British Literature, Esoteric, Literary Criticism, Literature, New books, Recommended reads | Tagged Ancient Britain, Ancient texts, archetype, Arthuriad, Arthurian Legends, Arthurian Tradition, Atlantis, atlantis and lemuria, Breton, British Literature, British mysteries, Brythonic Literature, Celtic Mythology, chrétien de troyes, Dion Fortune, England, esoteric, Faery Realms, France, french manuscripts, Gareth Knight, Geoffrey of Monmouth, Greek Mythology, holy grail, King Arthur, Lemuria, Literary analysis, literary scholar, Literature, Magic, Mallory, mediaeval, Medieval French History, Medieval History, Merlin, Middle Ages, Morte D'Arthur, mythology, Parsifal, Robert de Boron, Secret Tradition, Symbolism, Thomas Mallory, Tristan and Isolde, Wendy Berg, Western Mysteries, Western Mystery Tradition, Wolfram von Eschenbach | 1 Comment

The Chronicles of the Sidhe by Steve Blamires

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Daniel

Forth from his breast the old man drew A lute that once on a rowan-tree grew: And, speaking no words, began to play “Over the hills and far away.” For a thirteen-year period, the reclusive Scottish writer Fiona Macleod enthralled … Continue reading →

Posted in British Literature, Esoteric, Literary Criticism, Literature, New books, Recommended reads, Reviews | Tagged authoritative biography, Avalon, British Literature, Celtic Christianity, Celtic Mythology, Celtic traditions, Celtic twilight, Chanelling, Early Church, esoteric, faery, Faery Lore, Faery Realms, Fiona Macleod, folklore, Gaelic, george orwell, Goddess, Golden Dawn, Hebrides, Highlands, Invocation of Peace, Iona, island landscape, Literature, mythology, Occult, poetry, Scottish history, Scottish Literature, Steve Blamires, The Little Book of the Great Enchantment, Victorian History, Western Mysteries, Western Mystery Tradition, William Sharp | 2 Comments

A Review of The Sacred Stone Circles of Stanton Drew – by Sue Vincent

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Daniel

When an author writes with a real passion for his subject it shines through every word. This is not the first book that Gordon Strong has published on the wonderful sacred landscape of Stanton Drew, but it is, I feel, … Continue reading →

Posted in Esoteric, Literary Criticism, New books, Recommended reads, Reviews | Tagged Ancient Folklore, Ancient sites, Archeology, Book Reviews, books., British History, Celtic, England, English history, esoteric, Gordon Strong, Great Britain, Literature, Megalithis, Occult, sacred geometry, SC Vincent, Somerset, Stanton Drew, Stone Circles, Sue Vincent, Western Mysteries, Western Mystery Tradition | Leave a comment

Steve Blamires on Skylight Press

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Daniel

Steve Blamires comes from the heart of Robert Burns country, the port town of Ayr on the Firth of Clyde in the south-west of Scotland, where Celtic culture and the Gaelic language still thrives. On a very clear day in … Continue reading →

Posted in British Literature, Esoteric, Literary Criticism, Literature, New authors | Tagged British Literature, British mysteries, celtic history, Celtic Literature, Celtic Mythology, Celtic traditions, Company of Avalon, Company of Hawkwood, Dion Fortune, esoteric, Faery Lore, Fairy tales, Fiona Macleod, folklore, Gaelic studies, Gareth Knight, Golden Dawn, Irish history, Irish mythology, mythology, national geographic expedition, Occult, Ogham, Sacred Sites, Scottish history, travel, Tree Alphabet, Tree lore, WB Yeats, Western Mysteries, Western Mystery Tradition, western mystery traditions, William Sharp | Leave a comment

Iain Sinclair on Skylight Press

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Daniel

Iain Sinclair describes himself as a “British writer, documentarist, film maker, poet, flâneur, metropolitan prophet and urban shaman, keeper of lost cultures and futurologist.” He was born in Cardiff in 1943 but has lived much of his life in Hackney, … Continue reading →

Posted in British Literature, Esoteric, Literary Criticism, Literature, New authors, Poetry | Tagged 1960s, 1970s, Alan Moore, Albion Village Press, Angela Carter, anthologies, Architecture, Arthur Machen, avant garde, BBC, Bookdealers, British Avant Garde, British Literature, British mysteries, British poetry, Cardif, Chaos magic, Charles Baudelaire, Conductors of Chaos, Dining on Stones, documentary, Downriver, Earth Mysteries, Edge of Orison, esoteric, Euclidian, filmmaker, Flaneur, Geography, gnosticism, Gothic, Guy Debord, Hackney, Hawksmoor, History, iain sinclair, J.G. Ballard, Landor's Tower, Lettrists, Ley Lines, Lights out for the Territory, London, London Film School, London Orbital, London Psychogeographical Association, Louis Aragon, Lud Heat, Margaret Thatcher, Michael Moorcock, nomad, Occult, Peter Akroyd, Psychogeography, River Thames, Robert Graves, Shamanism, Sigil magic, Situationists, Suicide Bridge, Surrealism, The Workshop for Non-Linear Architecture, Thomas De Quincey, Underground, Walking tours, Walter Benjamin, white chappell, WIll Self, William Blake | 2 Comments

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