
Restoring Paradise
Western Esotericism, Literature, Art, and Consciousness
Arthur Versluis(Author)
State University of New York Press
Published on 26. May 2004
Book
Hardback
196 pages
978-0-7914-6139-6 (ISBN)
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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. While Arthur Versluis presents a new way of understanding Western esotericism in a contemporary light, above all he has crafted a book about knowing, and about how we come to know, and what "knowing" by way of literature and language actually means.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Albany, NY
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Laminated cover
Illustrations
Total Illustrations: 0
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Weight
390 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7914-6139-6 (9780791461396)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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E-Book
02/2012
State University of New York Press
€102.99
Available for download
Person
Arthur Versluis is Professor of American Thought and Language at Michigan State University and the author of many books, including Wisdom's Children: A Christian Esoteric Tradition, also published by SUNY Press. He is also the editor of the journal Esoterica.
Content
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Initiatory Transmission and the Imagination
What is Esoteric?
Initiatory Transmission and Western Esotericism
The Esoteric Imagination
1. Origins
Alchemy of the Word
The Field of the Imagination
The Red Thread of Gnosis
Conclusions
2. Historical Currents
Divine Service: Chivalry and the Troubadours
Books within Books: Jewish Kabbalism
The Transfiguration of Earth: Alchemical Literature
The Divine Science: Theosophic, Pansophic, Rosicrucian, and Masonic Literature
3. Modern Implications
Prospero's Wand: Modern Esoteric Literature
The Western Esoteric Traditions and Consciousness
Literature, Art, and Consciousness
Notes
Index
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Initiatory Transmission and the Imagination
What is Esoteric?
Initiatory Transmission and Western Esotericism
The Esoteric Imagination
1. Origins
Alchemy of the Word
The Field of the Imagination
The Red Thread of Gnosis
Conclusions
2. Historical Currents
Divine Service: Chivalry and the Troubadours
Books within Books: Jewish Kabbalism
The Transfiguration of Earth: Alchemical Literature
The Divine Science: Theosophic, Pansophic, Rosicrucian, and Masonic Literature
3. Modern Implications
Prospero's Wand: Modern Esoteric Literature
The Western Esoteric Traditions and Consciousness
Literature, Art, and Consciousness
Notes
Index