William Blake: Mystic for Modernity, Episode 1 | Mark Vernon

Welcome to the first episode in our latest series, William Blake: Mystic for Modernity. William Blake (1757–1827) was a visionary English poet, painter, and printmaker of the Romantic Age.       My guest today is Mark Vernon. Mark is a writer and psychotherapist. A keen podcaster, including over 100 dialogues with Rupert Sheldrake, and a columnist with The Idler, he speaks regularly at festivals and broadcasts on the BBC. Mark has a PhD in Ancient Greek Philosophy, and degrees in Theology and Physics. His most recent book is Awake! William Blake and the Power of the Imagination, and previous books include Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Guide for the Spiritual Journey, and a book on Owen Barfield and the significance of Jesus for mystical Christianity. For more information, see www.markvernon.com   https://www.amazon.com/Awake-William-Blake-Power-Imagination/dp/1911723979     Largely unrecognized and dismissed as eccentric during his lifetime, William Blake is now celebrated for his fiercely imaginative, spiritually profound works and his radical opposition to institutional religion and rationalism. From an early age, Blake claimed to have had mystical visions, which profoundly influenced his creative and spiritual philosophy.  Blake was a radical thinker who sympathized with the American and French Revolutions. He abhorred slavery and the oppressive impacts of the Industrial Revolution. He rejected rationalism in favor of unbridled human imagination. His philosophical and prophetic works, such as The Marriage of Heaven and Hell and Milton, feature his own complex mythology and criticize both societal and religious repression.         ⸻ 📲 Connect with Derek Holser: 🐦 Twitter / X: https://X.com/derekholser 📱 TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@derekholser 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theplungewithderekholser/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/derekholser 📚 New Book! Lightgliders ➡ https://www.amazon.com/Tambika-Shield-Wisdom-Lightglider-Origins/dp/1645075486   ⸻