Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul are two books of poetry by the English poet and painter, William Blake. Although Songs of Innocence was first published by itself in 1789, it is believed that Songs of Experience has always been published in conjunction with Innocence since its completion in 1794.
Modern scholars often find it difficult to account for the profound eccentricities in the work of William Blake, dismissing them as either ahistorical or simply meaningless. But with this pioneering study, Saree Makdisi develops a reliable and comprehensive framework for understanding these peculiarities. According to Makdisi, Blake's poetry and drawings should compel us to reconsider the history of the 1790s.
For many Americans at the turn of the twentieth century and into the 1920s, the city of New York conjured dark images of crime, poverty, and the desperation of crowded immigrants. In How New York Became American, 1890--1924 Angela Blake explores how advertising professionals and savvy business leaders "reinvented" the city, creating a brand image of New York that capitalized on the trend toward pleasure travel. Blake examines the ways in which these early boosters built on the attention drawn to the city and its exotic populations to craft an image of New York City as America writ urban -- a place where the arts flourished, diverse peoples lived together boisterously but peacefully, and where one could enjoy a visit.
Edited by: stovokor - 19 April 2009
Reason: cover image uploaded to our server, please, do it yourself in the future according to the instructions in help :)
"Professor John Beer's new book combines illuminating and fresh discussions of Blake's life and work with astute commentary on the visual materials. Tracing Blake's religious background from early childhood onwards, Beer presents a clear and highly readable account of the spiritual richness and complexity of his mature poetry. We also learn a lot about the world of fellow-artists, patrons and publishers in which Blake moved, including surprising glimpses of the visionary poet's forthright business dealings. Towards the end of the book Beer musters a moving series of contemporaries' impressions of Blake, some of which will be new to readers."--Deirdre Coleman, University of Sydney
