What do you think?
Rate this book
Up and Out and The Mountains of the Moon
Up and Out & The Mountains of the Moon
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
About the author
John Cowper Powys
169 books179 followersPowys was born in Shirley, Derbyshire, where his father was vicar. His mother was descended from the poet William Cowper, hence his middle name. His two younger brothers, Llewelyn Powys and Theodore Francis Powys, also became well-known writers. Other brothers and sisters also became prominent in the arts.
John studied at Sherborne School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and became a teacher and lecturer; as lecturer, he worked first in England, then in continental Europe and finally in the USA, where he lived in the years 1904-1934. While in the United States, his work was championed by author Theodore Dreiser. He engaged in public debate with Bertrand Russell and the philosopher and historian Will Durant: he was called for the defence in the first obscenity trial for the James Joyce novel, Ulysses, and was mentioned with approval in the autobiography of US feminist and anarchist, Emma Goldman.
He made his name as a poet and essayist, moving on to produce a series of acclaimed novels distinguished by their uniquely detailed and intensely sensual recreation of time, place and character. They also describe heightened states of awareness resulting from mystic revelation, or from the experience of extreme pleasure or pain. The best known of these distinctive novels are A Glastonbury Romance and Wolf Solent. He also wrote some works of philosophy and literary criticism, including a pioneering tribute to Dorothy Richardson.
Having returned to the UK, he lived in England for a brief time, then moved to Corwen in Wales, where he wrote historical romances (including two set in Wales) and magical fantasies. He later moved to Blaenau Ffestiniog, where he remained until his death in 1963.
John studied at Sherborne School and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and became a teacher and lecturer; as lecturer, he worked first in England, then in continental Europe and finally in the USA, where he lived in the years 1904-1934. While in the United States, his work was championed by author Theodore Dreiser. He engaged in public debate with Bertrand Russell and the philosopher and historian Will Durant: he was called for the defence in the first obscenity trial for the James Joyce novel, Ulysses, and was mentioned with approval in the autobiography of US feminist and anarchist, Emma Goldman.
He made his name as a poet and essayist, moving on to produce a series of acclaimed novels distinguished by their uniquely detailed and intensely sensual recreation of time, place and character. They also describe heightened states of awareness resulting from mystic revelation, or from the experience of extreme pleasure or pain. The best known of these distinctive novels are A Glastonbury Romance and Wolf Solent. He also wrote some works of philosophy and literary criticism, including a pioneering tribute to Dorothy Richardson.
Having returned to the UK, he lived in England for a brief time, then moved to Corwen in Wales, where he wrote historical romances (including two set in Wales) and magical fantasies. He later moved to Blaenau Ffestiniog, where he remained until his death in 1963.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 6, 2014
"Up and out!" our hero shouts, and up and out they go on a flying clod of earth to outer space as Earth explodes. He and his lover and Gog, the multi-formed result of scientific piddling, and Gog's girl companion. They pass through the black slug of time, encounter numerous gods including the two headed God-Devil in the midst of argument with Himself. It seems the entire of Creation has decided to commit suicide. All except for our life-affirming heroes.
As a narrative, it's not very gripping or stirring. But conceptually rich and fascinating. The unbounded imagination can liberate one's own.
Ezra Pound once called J.C. Powys, Jesus Christ Powys. (Powys retalliated by calling Pound a "pond newt".) And in his writings he refers often enough to the fascinating spiritual games (or "vices") he plays ("soul projecting") and through his religio-fantastical cosmological prism he deals with the strife of life. Fascinating sure. But his eccentric spiritual-materialistic gospel may be neurotic labyrinths.
Some have poopooed his late childish writings (including Up and Out, All or Nothing) but like Blake, Powys seems to have made himself into a channel of voluminous outpourings. Imaginative rich and likely to work on dislodging the mind of a generous reader from earthbound conventional conceptualizing so as to open up to broader reaches.
As a narrative, it's not very gripping or stirring. But conceptually rich and fascinating. The unbounded imagination can liberate one's own.
Ezra Pound once called J.C. Powys, Jesus Christ Powys. (Powys retalliated by calling Pound a "pond newt".) And in his writings he refers often enough to the fascinating spiritual games (or "vices") he plays ("soul projecting") and through his religio-fantastical cosmological prism he deals with the strife of life. Fascinating sure. But his eccentric spiritual-materialistic gospel may be neurotic labyrinths.
Some have poopooed his late childish writings (including Up and Out, All or Nothing) but like Blake, Powys seems to have made himself into a channel of voluminous outpourings. Imaginative rich and likely to work on dislodging the mind of a generous reader from earthbound conventional conceptualizing so as to open up to broader reaches.
Displaying 1 of 1 review