I recently received a copy of this book to review, and I am quite grateful because my goodness, it is a stunning book! It was self-published in July to coincide with the bicentennial of Percy Shelley’s death.
The book was inspired by the Romantic poets John Keats and Percy Shelley, who in their time had a great deal of interest in Classical Greek and Roman literature and culture, the foundation of Western Civilization. Keats and Shelley often emulated the Greek poets and reflect this in their work in this book as well.
The book is also inspired by Jung and his Individuation Process; “the achievement of self-actualization through a process of integrating the conscious and the unconscious.”
From the author:
“This is a mythological portrait of my struggle for self-actualization to integrate the conscious with the unconscious. Or to put it in another way, an illustrated fantasy which conjures a world in which archetypal characters from Greek mythology battle for dominance as Endymion, the main character attempts to wake himself from endless sleep. It is a part-epic battle, part-psychotherapeutic journey written in poetic meter as one continuous dream where Jupiter, Diana (Hekate - Artemis - Selene), Zephyrus, Hermes and Endymion wrestle with reason, fear, hope and divine inspiration.”
Rebecca Yanovskaya, a freelance illustrator working in the fantasy, sci-fi and horror genres, lushly illustrates Enydmion throughout. Each page of art is utterly exquisite and complements the written piece perfectly.
This bibliophile edition of the book is clothbound in the loveliest shade of green linen and gold stamped. The paper has a wonderful texture, thick and rough edged but soft and it is easy to turn the pages. There were 250 copies made of this version and if you would like one, be quick! You can email Mr. Ward at his website: https://www.kurtrward.com. If there aren't any left, you needn't worry at all as the book is also available on Amazon in both paperback and hardback!
I recommend this beautiful book especially to fans of Keats and Shelley, of Jung, and to those that love the Ancient Greek and Roman myths. It is a lyrical play that is timeless and universal to our human experience.
Originally published in the Covenant of Hekate's newsletter, Noumenia News, Issue # 60: https://www.hekatecovenant.com/noumenia-news
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