Jerusalem - The Emanation of the Giant Albion

JERUSALEM-the EMANATION
of the GIANT ALBION
by William Blake

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The epic poem Jerusalem was in Blake's own opinion his masterpiece. It is
the last of the great prophetic books. Originally produced as an engraved
book of 100 pages (only one copy of which was every fully finished in the
colouring), the poem develops and unifies many of the themes Blake had
been exploring in earlier works. It is a complex and powerful work, full of
dramatic imagery and sublime poetry. You might think of it like a poetic
version of a Wagner opera. This is poetry as if your life depended on it. It is
amazing how contemporary to us it feels if you compare it to what was
being produced at the time. You can see in this work how it has inspired
writers like Phillip Pullman in his Northern Lights trilogy. The edition read
here is the first printed version of the poem - which was impossibly hard to
read in the original. This then was the first opportunity to really explore it. In
his introduction Blake implies that the way to experience this work is to
read it aloud rather than in your head. I can only agree and this opens
another dimension to what was alreay a textual and pictorial artwork.

If you are interested to explore more of Blake you might contact The Blake
Society.(Introduction by Nick Duncan)

Read by Nick Duncan. Total running time: 6:53:19

This recording is in the public domain and may be reproduced, distributed,
or modified without permission. For more information or to volunteer, visit
librivox.org.

Cover picture by William Blake). Copyright expired in U.S., Canada, EU. and
all countries with author’s life +70 yrs laws. Cover design by Annise. This
design is in the public domain.

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