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Jerusalem!: The Real Life of William Blake

Tobias Churton

really liked it 4.00 · Rating details · 19 ratings · 8 reviews

‘Truly astonishing in its detail … this must be one of the most illuminating and enlightening biographies to date.’ Michael Eavis cbe, Founder of the Glastonbury Festival

A brilliant new biography of the mystic poet and artist William Blake – and the first to explore his startlingly original quest for spiritual truth, as well as the profound lessons he has for us all ‘Truly astonishing in its detail … this must be one of the most illuminating and enlightening biographies to date.’ Michael Eavis cbe, Founder of the Glastonbury Festival

A brilliant new biography of the mystic poet and artist William Blake – and the first to explore his startlingly original quest for spiritual truth, as well as the profound lessons he has for us all today.

The hymn ‘Jerusalem’, with its famous words by William Blake, stirs our hearts with its evocation of a new holy city built in ‘England’s green and pleasant land’. However, until now, the spiritual essence of William Blake has been buried under myriad inadequate biographies, college dissertations and arts commentaries, written by people who have missed the luminescent keys to Blake’s symbolism and liberating spirit. Any attempt to uncover the ‘real’ Blake is thwarted by his status as a legend or ‘national treasure’.

In Jerusalem! Tobias Churton expertly takes you beyond this superficial façade, showing you Blake the esoteric genius – a myth-maker, brilliantly using symbols and theology to express his unique insights into the nature of body, mind and spirit. Churton is not only deeply knowledgeable about Blake’s life and times, but also uses his shared values with Blake to enter into his labyrinth of thought and feeling.

Challenging the conventional views of Blake as either a ‘romantic poet’ or a rebel with ideas about free sex, Tobias Churton’s startling new biography reveals, at last, the real William Blake in all his glory, so that anyone who sings ‘Jerusalem’ in future will see its beauty with renewed understanding.

With access to a large body of never-before-published records – letters, diaries, pamphlets and books – Tobias Churton casts unprecedented light and perspective on William Blake’s life and times.

Blake’s writing – heartfelt, vivid and profound – accounts for his status as one of the best-loved poets writing in English. Americans need no reminding that Blake inspired Ralph Waldo Emerson and American visionary Walt Whitman. Yet he spent the larger part of his creative career being ridiculed and suppressed. In Jerusalem! Churton conjures a superb portrait of Blake’s London, and in particular the rivalries of the cultural community in which the poet-artist was often misunderstood. He argues that Blake believed Man does not ‘belong’ to society; rather,we are all members of the Divine Body, co-existent with God. He was concerned with a total spiritual revival – what had gone wrong with Man, and how to put it right.

Blake’s message has proved to be as challenging to today’s readers as it was to his contemporaries. Blake perceived, so far ahead of his time, that the philosophy of materialism would dominate the world – a culture from which we now yearn to break free. Jerusalem! is unashamedly ambitious in its scope and objective. Churton ends once and for all the persistent notion of Blake as a startling peculiarity, whilst emancipating him from the labels of ‘Romantic poet’ or ‘national treasure’. Even if it means sacrificing some cherished illusions or uncovering a few painful surprises, this compelling biography reveals, for the first time, the true spirit of William Blake. ...more

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Hardcover, 464 pages

Published May 12th 2015 by Watkins Publishing (first published November 18th 2014)

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Dec 26, 2014 Joseph Spuckler rated it liked it

Shelves: british, biography, poetry

Jerusalem!: The Real Life of William Blake by Tobias Churton is a biography and a deep look at William Blake. Churton is a filmmaker who studied theology at Oxford. His documentaries include "The Gnostics" and "A Mighty Good Man," a biography of Elias Ashmole. He is currently a lecturer on Freemasonry the Exter Centre for the Study of Esotericism, Exter University.

I started this book with the hope of learning more about William Blake, whose works, I admit, are limited to Songs of Innocence and Jerusalem!: The Real Life of William Blake by Tobias Churton is a biography and a deep look at William Blake. Churton is a filmmaker who studied theology at Oxford. His documentaries include "The Gnostics" and "A Mighty Good Man," a biography of Elias Ashmole. He is currently a lecturer on Freemasonry the Exter Centre for the Study of Esotericism, Exter University.

I started this book with the hope of learning more about William Blake, whose works, I admit, are limited to Songs of Innocence and Experience. I came to read that collection after hearing a musician include “The Lamb” on an album and joke on another that it was William Blake's birthday so we should listen to his records. The musician was Patti Smith and she was also responsible for me picking up Blake as well as Rimbaud. I was impressed with Blake and, of course, wanted to learn more.

In the introduction, Churton spends many words talking about the epic poem “Jerusalem.” Its sudden popularity in England had some people thinking it was an important part of their national identity. I had expectations that this might be similar to The Most Dangerous Book about the printing of Joyce's Ulysses and Irish identity. However, this turns out not to be the case either.

William Blake had a problem which is a fairly unique among those who are famous. No one knew him. Blake did not keep or have a surviving journal. Most of his letters are lost. And, sadly, no one cared about Blake's work until years after his death. People did care about his work in that he was a skilled engraver, but not as an important artist and poet. The only biography that existed was written by Frederick Tatham, who is discredited by Churton and others.

Jerusalem! begins with Blake's death. Here there are several accounts of his passing. That, however, seems to be the most documented part of his life. There is virtually no personal information on Blake. In the absence of information, Churton does something intriguing. He creates a psychological and forensic profile of the artist.

Churton takes documented information such as addresses and places of employment and uses them to explain financial success and style of living. He goes further in detail with local and world events to form a picture of how these events would have influenced his life. Blake’s religious beliefs, Moravian Church, played a crucial role in his life. A lamb is the center of the church's seal, perhaps an influence to “The Lamb” and “The Tyger.” Churton ties in Swedish philosopher Swedenborg with enough information to make him a secondary subject in this biography.

I usually tend to give the author the benefit of the doubt, however, in the introduction, Churton mentions the rock band The Doors and Blake's influence on Jim Morrison. In the body of the book he mentions the song "Wild Child" and the seemingly out of place final line "Remember when we were in Africa." Churton credits this to Blakes "Preludium to America." Morrison, however, admired Rimbaud -- who faked his death to escape fame and went to Africa to run guns. Morrison, likewise, spoke about disappearing to Africa and returning as Mr. Mojo Risen. Rimbaud has a deep connection with American artists like Morrison, Bob Dylan, and Patti Smith. There is more than a causal connection between Morrison and Rimbaud and little to none of Morrison and Blake. It may seem like a small error to many, but it is one that made me question other information in the book.

For a biography, I found it light on documentation. Granted much is inferred on little information. I felt I learned more about world events and those who influenced Blake rather than learning about Blake himself. I will admit the lack of the usual documentation makes it difficult to recreate Blake's life. Churton's approach is an interesting answer to the problem but leaves holes for criticism. Rather than I biography, I would consider this more of a psychological profile based on the historical limited information. I would think it would much more appeal to the scholarly crowd than the average biography reader.

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Nov 30, 2015 Aria Ligi rated it it was amazing

Wow, this book is by far the best biography I have read of Blake, next only to Bentley's Stranger from Paradise. It is well researched, takes into account all the previous biographer's such as: Ackroyd, Bentley, Gilchrist, Tatham, Erdman and Schuchard, but never with the snarky tone that Ackroyd often employs. Churton while praising Blake, questions certain stories, (such as Blake's often repeated story of seeing Angels in a tree or his 'good death' and how he died like an angel, who was there ...more

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Nov 09, 2017 Cooper Renner rated it liked it

Shelves: abandoned

I quit after 100 pages or so. Too much lit crit, not enough biography.

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Mar 18, 2016 Jerome rated it really liked it

Matthew 18:3
“Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Iconoclasm is the destruction of religious icons and other images or monuments for religious or political motives.

Churton digs deep here.

Blake.
A Mystic,Iconoclast,Gnostic,Heretic (?),Christian...
And of course,a Visionary.

A true individual.
Are we altogether:
God fragment'd?
Shouldn't we all be that,to see The Kingdom clearly?
(like children).

Not your normal,straight-forward ...more

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Jan 28, 2015 Andy Nieradko rated it really liked it

Tobias Churton has written a very well researched, scholarly study of the life and art of William Blake. One of the main contributions of this book will be in setting the record straight regarding all the myths and misinformed biographies regarding Blake. If you love the artist, you'll probably love this book. Much thought and insight is given to the mindset and motivations that went into the creation of Will's art. I found the history of his life, times, and personal relationships to be a bit ...more

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Jan 29, 2015 Lucy rated it liked it

Shelves: non-fiction, auto-biography, free, galley-from-publisher

I received a galley copy of this book from the publisher. I was hoping for a biography that would be useful as a possible companion text to sample from in a literature class alongside Blake's poems. I was somewhat underwhelmed. I struggled with the flow and voice of this book. I found it dry (even by nonfiction,biography standards), and it felt choppy. It read to me more as reading notes than a completed biography. I think this would be a fascinating read for true Blake-ophiles and/or Blake ...more

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Jan 20, 2015 Ruth added it

Thank you to Watkins Publishing and Netgally for the Arc! I have to say that I struggled to complete this book. The writing is excellent, but I think I anticipated more straight biography and less critical analysis. I like critical analysis, but to appreciate/understand all of it, I would have needed a much better understanding of Blake and his work than I had going in, which is partly why I decided to read a Blake biography in the first place.

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Aug 14, 2015 Rose rated it liked it

Very good use of recent discoveries concerning Blake's mother, but did not feel that Blake himself was shown in relation to society and culture of his time. Good illustrations, although could have used more.

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About Tobias Churton

Tobias Churton

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Tobias Churton is a filmmaker and the founding editor of the magazine "Freemasonry Today". He studied theology at Oxford University and created the award-winning documentary series and accompanying book The Gnostics, as well as several other films on Christian doctrine, mysticism, and magical folklore, such as "A Mighty Good Man" (2002), a documentary on Elias Ashmole, his religious ideas and ...more