| John Cowper Powys |
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He was born in , 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 stayed there until his death. Powys' novels are legendary for their massive size and numerous characters. In addition to their scope Powys' books can be difficult because of their many obscure references to Welsh culture and mythology. Other sources of difficulty for the contemporary reader are Powys' obsession with the occult and an animist world view which, among other things, endowed inanimate objects like the sun in A Glastonbury Romance with souls and points of view. The appeal of Powys eludes some readers, while others are deeply moved. Because of this, his challenging works have never been fashionable, yet they have won a loyal following nevertheless. They have been praised by talents as diverse as novelists Henry Miller , Robertson Davies , and Margaret Drabble, as well as classical pianist Glenn Gould . Film director John Boorman wrote in his autobiography that early in his career he contemplated making a movie based on " A Glastonbury Romance ." Powys was also one of the twentieth century's greatest literary letter writers: his correspondence bears comparison with that of Charles Olson in its immediacy and intellectual scope. A collection of his letters to his lifelong friend and biographer Louis Wilkinson (himself best known for his close connection with Aleister Crowley ) was published during his lifetime: further volumes have been issued posthumously. Novels
Philosophy
Short stories
Other
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