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A Checklist of Blake Publications, June ’67 to May ’68

Readers are invited to send in any items we missed for inclusion next issue. Annotations, unless otherwise indicated, are by the editor. The checklist was compiled with the assistance of Karen Walowit.

A. Bibliography

  1. MLA International Bibliography, 1966. PMLA, LXXII (June 1967), items 5418 through 5449; see also items 5367, 7343, 8180, 10956, 13066.

  2. English Literature: A Current Bibliography. PQ, XLVI (July 1967), 327-331. (John E. Grant)

  3. The Romantic Movement: A Selective and Critical Bibliography for 1966. ELN, V (September 1967), 21-25 (David V. Erdman, with the assistance of Kenneth Negus and James S. Patty)

Each of these has some listings not in the others. The MLA bibliography is the longest, but it is not annotated; PQ and ELN describe some items and review some others. Some of the ELN reviews are by Martin K. Nurmi. We might add that although the June ’67 Newsletter missed some articles included in one or more of these lists, it also includes some not found in any of them.

B. Articles and Reviews

  1. Anon., “Illuminations,” TLS, September 14, 1967, p. 820. Review of the Milton facsimile published for the Blake Trust. The reviewer praises the facsimile but has some trouble with Blake: Satan cannot be Hayley because Satan is the selfhood.

  2. Baine, Rodney M., “Blake’s ‘Tyger’: The Nature of the Beast,” PQ, XLVI (October 1967), 488-498. “A reading of ‘The Tyger in the context of Songs of Innocence and of its analogues or sources reveals it as the shocked and fascinated reaction of an observer imaginatively visualizing the creation of brutal cruelty in nature and in man, as symbolized by the Tyger.” Very little is added to previous discussions of the poem, and what remains is questionable — how relevant, for example, is “Goldsmith’s selection of the tiger as the most cruel and bloodthirsty of all the wild animals”?

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  4. Bogen, Nancy, “Blake on ‘The Ohio,’” N & Q, NS XV (January 1968), 19-20.

    Suggests that Blake’s association of the Ohio River with freedom stems from material in A Topographical Description of the Western Territory of North America by Gilbert Imlay (London, 1792).

  5. Colie, R.L., Review of Hymns Unbidden by Martha Winburn England and John Sparrow, MLQ, XXVIII (December 1967), 496-497.

  6. Cook, D.F. and Ricketts, A.N., “Obituary Notice — Kenneth Povey (1868-1965),” Library, XXIII (March 1968), 51-56.

    Bibliography includes the late Mr. Povey’s writings about Blake in Sussex.

  7. Cummings, Frederick, “William Blake,” in Romantic Art in Britain/ Paintings and Drawings 1760-1860, catalogue by Frederick Cummings and Allen Staley, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 1968, pp. 157-167 (8 ills.).

    See review in this Newsletter.

  8. Doherty, F.M.J., “Blake’s ‘The Tyger’ and Henry Needler,” PQ, XLVI (October 1967), 566-567.

    Suggests that a poem in Needler’s Familiar Letters (Works, 1724) “is evidently the covert target of Blake’s.” The “verbal prefigurings” are indeed interesting.

  9. Davies, J.G., Review of Blake’s Contrary States by D.G. Gilham, MLR, LXIII (January 1968), 206-207.

  10. Douglas, Dennis, “Blake and the Grotesque,” Balcony, VI (Summer 1967), 9-16.[e]

  11. Durrant, Geoffrey H., “Blake’s ‘My Pretty Rose-tree,’” Theoria, No. 30 (May 1968), pagination not yet known.

    Described by the author as “a brief contribution to a discussion of this poem, following the article by J.B. Thompson (Theoria 24) and the letter by E.H. Paterson (Theoria 28).”

  12. Hall, M.S., Review of The New Apocalypse by T.J.J. Altizer, Christian Century, LXXXIV (Aug. 23, 1967), 1070.

  13. Hilles, F.W., “A New Blake Letter,” Yale Review, LVII (October 1967), 85-89. [Discussed in Newsletter #4]

  14. Kaplan, Fred, “ ‘The Tyger’ and Its Maker: Blake’s Vision of Art and the Artist,” SEL, VII (Autumn 1967), 617-627.

  15. McGhee, Richard D., “Thallassius: Swinburne’s Poetic Myth,” Victorian Poetry, V (Summer 1967), 127-136.

    The influence of Blake is discussed.

  16. Melikian, Souren,[e] “William Blake: Singer of Fearful Symmetry,” Realités (English Edition) No. 206 (January 1968). Translation of “Les poems pients du prophete Blake” in Realités (French edition) No. 260 (September 1967), pp. 72-78; 5 large color illustrations.

    Described by John E. Grant as “an item which is of no intrinsic importance but is symptomatic and has pretty pictures.”

  17. Moore, Richard, “Two New Editions of Blake,” Poetry, CXI (January 1968), 263-266.

    Ostensibly a review of the Erdman Poetry and Prose and the Keynes Complete Writings. “The difficulty with the prophetic books is not that they are obscure, but that the writing in them becomes fanatical and dull.”

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  19. Paley, Morton D., “Cowper As Blake’s Spectre,” Eighteenth-Century Studies, I (Spring 1968), 236-252.

    Discusses Blake’s view of Cowper and suggests similarities between the Spectre of Jerusalem 10 and the insane Cowper. Three heads of Cowper by Blake are reproduced.

  20. Raine, Kathleen, “Thomas Taylor, Plato, and the English Romantic Movement,” Sewanee Review, LXXVI (Spring 1968), 230-257.

  21. Rexroth, Kenneth, “The Works of Blake,” Saturday Review, LI (March 30, 1968), 17.

    Negligible.

  22. Stevenson, W.H., “Blake’s ‘From Cratetos’: a Source and a Correction,” N & Q, NS XV (January 1968), 21.

  23. Tolley, Michael J., “Blake’s ‘Edens Flood’ Again,” N & Q, NS XV (January 1968), 11-19.

    Biblical allusions in passages of “The Everlasting Gospel.”

  24. —, Review of five books — the Keynes and Erdman editions, A Blake Dictionary, Vision and Verse in William Blake, and Arrows of Intellect, Southern Review [University of Adelaide, Australia], II (1967), 269-277.

  25. Ure, Peter, Review of Blake’s Contrary States, RES, NS XIX (February 1968), 83-85.

    Discusses both the virtues and limitations of the book. “Dr. Gillham does come to terms with Blake, and the feeling may be that in doing so he tames and surburbanizes him.”

  26. Wardle, J., “ ‘Europe’ and ‘America,’” N & Q, NS XV (January 1968), 20-21.

    Contends that the head of the “Ancient of Days” derives from that of King Lear in Barry’s painting.

  27. Wolfe, T.P., “Blakean Intellect,” Hudson Review, XX (Winter 1967-1968), 610-614.

C. Books

[Some of these have not been seen and should perhaps be considered “forthcoming.” “B” means that our only source is Blackwell’s catalogue.]

  1. Altizer, Thomas J.J. The New Apocalypse. East Lansing: Michigan State U. 1967. $8.50.

  2. Beer, John. Blake’s Humanism. Manchester: U. of Manchester Press. 1968. See announcement in Newsletter #4.

  3. Bentley, G.E., Jr. Blake Records (with 60 plates). Oxford: Clarendon. “Reprints in chronological order all the known references to William Blake and his family in contemporary accounts, between 1737 and 1831.” £5/15/- (B)

  4. Blake. Songs of Innocence and of Experience. Commentary by Sir Geoffrey Keynes. With color reproductions of the original 54 plates. (Trianon Press, for the William Blake Trust.) 1967. 84/-

  5. —. Tiriel, ed. G.E. Bentley, Jr. Facsimile and transcript of the MS, reproductions of the drawings (9 full-page ills.), and commentary. Oxford: Clarendon. about 42/-

  6. Butlin, Martin. The Blake-Varley Sketchbook. Descriptive introduction and facsimile reproductions (6 ⅜″ × 8 ⅛″). London: William Heineman. 1968. £5/5/-[e]

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  8. Erdman, David V., ed. (with the assistance of John E. Thiesmeyer, Richard J. Wolfe et al.). Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell U.P. 2 vols. 1967. To be reviewed in Newsletter #6.

  9. Gardner, Stanley. Blake. London: Evans Bros. (Literature in Perspective series.) 1968. 8/6 paper; 16s cased.

  10. Holloway, John. Blake: Songs of Innocence and of Experience. (Studies in English Literature) 5s paper; 8/6 boards. (B)

  11. Lister, Raymond. William Blake. “An introduction to the man and his work, illustrated.” 25/- (B)

  12. Raine, Kathleen. Blake and Tradition. Princeton (Bollingen Series XXXV: 11). 2 vols. with 194 ills., 11 in color. Boxed. $22.50.

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