Blake
by Peter Ackroyd
published
July 14th 1997
(first published 1995)
by Ballantine Books
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binding
Paperback, 400 pages
isbn
0345376110
(isbn13: 9780345376114)
description
William Blake, a London hosier's son, began having mystical visions at the age of eight and came to see his life as a revelation of eternity. While ek...more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 73)
Read in May, 2008
The blurb on the cover of my edition of this book describes it as "a marvellous work of the imagination"... and biography or no, that's what Ackroyd does best. His non-fiction is always spattered with anecdotes and "what ifs" or "what may have happened".
However Ackroyd's brilliant style didn't really save this book from being quite dry and overly complicated. Which is odd considering it had very little to say. Blake wrote some amazing poetry. He also wrote ...more
However Ackroyd's brilliant style didn't really save this book from being quite dry and overly complicated. Which is odd considering it had very little to say. Blake wrote some amazing poetry. He also wrote ...more
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A good standard biography that clearly delineates the contours of Blake's life, work, personality and ways of being in the world. It is also a good example of why one must read multiple biographies of the same writer in order even to hope of gaining real insight into the inner lives of writers. Ackroyd focuses on Blake's art almost dismissing the personal mythology that his art illustrates. He doesn't ignore Blakes's poetry through which Blake expresses his mythology, but I sense that Ackroyd...more
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I like Ackroyd a lot because he has one foot in the slipstream/high weird camp that I so love. Okay probably more than one foot as novels like English Music and Hawksmoor attest.
Ackroyd’s biography of Blake is a detailed look at Blake's life, linking his work, his art, his philosophy and his poetry together. Something I enjoy even more the second time through is the way this biography oftentimes seems like a tourist's guide to Blake's London. No surprise after his biography of London, but ...more
Ackroyd’s biography of Blake is a detailed look at Blake's life, linking his work, his art, his philosophy and his poetry together. Something I enjoy even more the second time through is the way this biography oftentimes seems like a tourist's guide to Blake's London. No surprise after his biography of London, but ...more
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A bit of tough sailing. This is the book that put me onto reading literary biographies, or, at least, put me onto the idea of reading literary biographies. I left with the idea that Blake was brilliant and I a little bit dim for not really getting him.
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Read in December, 2007
perhaps i had always been expecting too much? somehow i felt more empty after having finished and lacking any deeper vision into blake and his work..maybe blake is the last person one should read a biography on!
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Read in July, 2001
I remember being more fascinated with Ackroyd's account of Blake's engraving career than with discussions of the poetry. I should re-read this one: Blake seems like a perfect 2007 poet, doesn't he?
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Read in March, 2002
My photo is from a Blake illustration. This bio of Blake is intelligent and readable.
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
blake fans
still reading - not sure yet
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