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Julian the Magician

Gwendolyn MacEwen

3.56 · Rating details · 25 ratings · 2 reviews

The Insomniac Library is proud to reissue Gwendolyn MacEwen's first novel, more than forty years after its original appearance in 1963. MacEwen described what she set out to achieve as a sort of powerful poetic mad half-abandoned prose somewhere between [Kenneth] Patchen and Virginia Woolf. Set in a medieval past that has distinctly modern overtones, the novel is about Jul ...more

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Paperback, 168 pages

Published March 15th 2004 by Insomniac Press (first published January 1st 2004)

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Feb 25, 2012 Matthew rated it really liked it

I just finished reading 'Julian the Magician' today, but as I was reading it I had a few observations about it that I thought I'd write down here. Gwendolyn MacEwen is an excellent Torontonian poet that crystallizes the meanings of words into small but encompassing--even resonating--stanzas and sentences. As such, she is also an extreme student and delver into myth and archetype. This the first time I have read or, rather, finished reading one of her novels: one of the two that she actually had I just finished reading 'Julian the Magician' today, but as I was reading it I had a few observations about it that I thought I'd write down here. Gwendolyn MacEwen is an excellent Torontonian poet that crystallizes the meanings of words into small but encompassing--even resonating--stanzas and sentences. As such, she is also an extreme student and delver into myth and archetype. This the first time I have read or, rather, finished reading one of her novels: one of the two that she actually had published.

But what can I tell you about this book? I would say that in some ways, it is a very deceptive book. My edition is 151 pages long and, upon, first glance would seem more like a short novella than an actual novel. Yet, as I have stated before, it would be deceptive to think so. This book is challenging for a few reasons. One of these reasons is that Gwendolyn MacEwen applies her poetics--her crystallization of multiple images and meanings--into words: into very sparse, but somehow vivid description and dialogue. As such, being a narrative created with poetic sensibilities of this kind, it is also a very intuitive text.

You have to really just immerse yourself within the words: sometimes needing to read closely, and other times letting the words wash over you. Sometimes, it can feel like you are reading every other word: as though there is another story or fragment of story that is the basis of the narrative that you as the reader are not completely privy to, but you still find yourself searching for that "river" that lies underneath them. Perhaps, the words are the fragments of ice that Julian finds in the winter river that the reader has to move past along with him into something cold, clear, and poignant. This textual reference and literary conceit aside, 'Julian the Magician' is a book that is somehow minimalist, dense, and charged in language and mythological resonance that its weight and power bely its page and word-count. Reading this is almost like, to pardon the pun, following a creative stream of consciousness not unlike that of James Joyce.

The narrative itself is filled with Gnostic, alchemical, and mystical references such as Boeheme, Magnus, Paracelsus, the Zohar and the Kabbalah, and the idea of the "mystical Christ" as well as looking at the figure of the magician as the forerunner to all philosophy and science: the intermediary between madness and the rational, and influencing someone to accept what they already believe.

Julian the Magician as a character is very fascinating to this regard because makes someone wonder what the difference is between manipulation and persuasion and their roles in belief. Because what he does, influencing his audience to believe, does not necessarily fall in either of these roles. He does not lie to his audience to get to them to do something they would not necessarily do and be ignorant of it, nor does he use straightforward eloquence to convince his audience that what he says or does is what they want to see. Rather, he is portrayed as a figure that can instinctively tap into that need for belief in something more that resides in all humanity: opening them up to what they unconsciously still want to see and experience and be a part of.

What is very interesting is to see Julian's own personal reluctance to have this role with regards to his audience, towards mass-humanity--a thing that can be both comic and tragic at same time--and to watch him slowly and inevitably have to accept it. In this sleight-of-hand stage magic is no different than esoteric rituals, arcane knowledge, or even miracle-working. It is all about belief and perspective: and both.

The narrative can be very hard to follow at times: especially in the 7-Day Epilogue with Julian's own personal journal that is somehow more stream of consciousness with even clearer gaps in thought and time. There are parts sometimes feel a little heavy-handed: such as the obvious parallels between Julian and a very famous archetypal figure and elements of the Epilogue as well. Nevertheless, I do feel that Gwendolyn MacEwen created something very important here and perhaps--as such--if a classic is judged as something you first need to immerse yourself in, and then enrich yourself with further rereadings over a certain period of time, then 'Julian the Magician' is a seminal work that can be considered as such. ...more

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Sep 28, 2010 Lorne S. rated it really liked it

First and foremost, it's necessary to view this book in the context of the times in which it was written.
There was a cold war paranoia gripping the world, and reports of nuclear tests in the news daily (sometimes as many as three a day). The world was about to end, that was a fact of life, and all that common working folk could do for comfort against this madness was turn to the religious organizations that had been preparing folks for armageddon for centuries.
Into this chaotic and bleak scenari ...more

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About Gwendolyn MacEwen

Gwendolyn MacEwen

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Gwendolyn MacEwen was one of Canada's most celebrated writers publishing several stories and many works of poetry throughout her career. She was born in Toronto, Ontario on September 1, 1941 to Elsie and Alick MacEwen. As a child she attended public schools in both Toronto and Winnipeg, and when she was seventeen her first poem was published in the Canadian Forum, a journal which published the wor Gwendolyn MacEwen was one of Canada's most celebrated writers publishing several stories and many works of poetry throughout her career. She was born in Toronto, Ontario on September 1, 1941 to Elsie and Alick MacEwen. As a child she attended public schools in both Toronto and Winnipeg, and when she was seventeen her first poem was published in the Canadian Forum, a journal which published the works of both new and renowned writers. At the age of eighteen she left school to pursue a full time career as a writer and at the same time opened a Toronto coffee house, "The Trojan Horse".

As a child Gwendolyn didn't get the best care from her parents. Her mother was mentally unstable, spending most of her life in institutions and her father was largely an alcoholic. However this may have been what led to her writing being so heavily focused on mythology, dreams, magic, and history. After leaving school Gwendolyn taught herself several different languages including Greek, French, Arabic and Hebrew, which she used to translate many of her poems. Her fluency in several languages is what most likely encouraged her to make references to cultures outside of Canada. Gwendolyn tended to focus on more surreal ideas in her writing and she had her own unique way of expressing them when compared to other poets from her time. A lot of her poetry involved changing the surrealism into reality by using strong imagery and often allegory. The cultures she studied often showed up in her work as part of the overall imagery and allusions to historical events were quite common.

Her volume of poems "The Shadow-Maker" won the Governor General's Award in 1969 and included many poems such as her famous "Dark Pines Under Water". During the mid eighties she was a writer in residence at the University of Western Ontario and then later the University of Toronto. Gwendolyn died in 1987 at the age of 46 from what was believed to have been health problems due to alcohol. Although she was not alive to be present, later that year her collection "Afterworlds" was awarded the Governor General's Award, making it the second time her work had won such a prestigious honour. ...more

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“And the people believe, because Julian lets them believe... he does not force, suggest, tease, prod -- he lets them believe, he draws margins over which he knows their minds can jump, he unscrews hinges on all the doors.” — 0 likes

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