Occultism, Spiritualism and Hermeticism
Sometimes called ‘hidden knowledge’, Occultism refers to beliefs and practices concerning the intersection of the material and spiritual worlds, purportedly representing the most ancient religious…
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Modernism in Europe
We are living in a very singular moment of history. It is a moment of crisis, in the literal sense of that word. In every…
Surrealism Overview
Soupault’s publication of Manifeste du Surréalism in 1924. Rising in the wake of the First World War, Surrealism revolted against a world that had become…
Carrington, Leonora (1917–2011)
Leonora Carrington was a painter, sculptor, poet and novelist who drew on mythology, fantasy and the occult to create images of a dreamlike world. She…
Crowley, Aleister (1875–1947)
Aleister Crowley was an occultist, writer, and mystic who founded the spiritual philosophy of Thelema. Crowley’s work combines European, South Asian, and Chinese esoteric teachings.…
Duncan, Robert (Edward) (1919–1988)
Robert Duncan was an American poet, dramatist, and critic central to the San Francisco Renaissance and Black Mountain College. He was born Edward Howard Duncan…
Lovecraft, H. P. (1890–1937)
H. P. Lovecraft was an American pulp author in the 1920s and 1930s. His work, primarily published in the magazine Weird Tales, helped create the…
af Klint, Hilma (1862–1944)
Hilma af Klint was a Swedish artist and early abstractionist. Though she was formally trained and publicly worked in the academic style, af Klint secretly…
Strindberg, August (1849–1912)
August Strindberg is Sweden’s most important writer and one of the most influential dramatists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Along with Henrik…
Jung, Carl (1875–1961)
Carl Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and an early leader in the psychoanalytic movement, which he left to found analytical psychology. Heir-apparent to Sigmund Freud,…
Blavatsky, Helena Petrovna (‘HPB’) (1831–1891)
Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (known as ‘HPB’ to her inner circle) claimed that from childhood she possessed the gift of clairvoyance. She used this well-publicized fact…
William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)
Irish poet, playwright, editor, writer, senator, William Butler Yeats is among the most accomplished authors of the twentieth century; in 1923 he was awarded Nobel…
Russolo, Luigi (1885–1947)
Luigi Russolo (b. Portogruaro, 1885–1947) was a painter, inventor, and musician. He was an Italian Futurist who responded to Filippo Marinetti’s call to revolutionize art…
Burmese Modernism
Modernistic painting in Burma first assertively appeared in the 1940s and with greater force in the 1950s, emerging as a full-fledged movement in the 1960s.…
Melodrama
With its origins in the novel and the theater, melodrama appeared in late 18th-century Europe and reached maturity at the turn of the 20th century.…
Izumi, Kyōka (1873–1939)
Izumi Kyōka was a novelist and shinpa playwright whose plays provided the heart of the shinpa repertory and demonstrated a new model for dramatic literature.…
Foulds, John (1880–1939)
John Herbert Foulds (1880–1939) was an English composer of classical music who found popularity with his light music and theatrical scores, but also created more…
Celtic Twilight, The (1893; revised 1902)
The Celtic Twilight is a collection of folk tales gathered by William Butler Yeats during his interviews with members of the rural working class in…
Wajda, Andrzej (1926--)
Andrezj Wajda is a Polish film and theater director, best known for his politically engaged films exploring Polish history, and his collaboration with the actor…
H.D. (Hilda Doolittle) (1886–1961)
Perhaps best known as one of the founding imagists, H.D. was also a novelist, essayist and actor active throughout the entire modernist period. From her…
Cornell, Joseph (1903–1972)
Joseph Cornell was an American artist known for his poetic use of collage and assemblage. His art, including his films, contains images that derive from…
Butts, Mary (1890–1937)
Mary Butts was a well-known and prolific British novelist, essayist, poet, and writer of short stories in her time. First published by Robert McAlmon, Butts…
Hedayat, Sadegh (1903–1951)
Sadegh Hedayat was an Iranian writer and intellectual who was responsible for introducing Modernism to Iranian literature. His short stories and novellas are the best…
Arlt, Roberto (1900-1942)
Roberto Arlt was an Argentine novelist, playwright, journalist, travel writer, and short-story writer. Recognized in recent decades as a foundational figure of modern literature in…
Laban, Rudolf (1879–1958)
Rudolf Laban was one of the leaders of Ausdruckstanz (“expressionist dance”) in Germany. He worked as a dancer, choreographer, writer, educator, movement analyst, ballet master,…