What in Me Is Dark
The Revolutionary Afterlife of Paradise Lost
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A highly original hybrid of literary criticism and political history, telling of the enduring, surprising and ever-evolving relevance of Milton's epic poem through the scandalous life of its creator and the revolutionary lives that were influenced by it.
What in Me Is Dark tells the unlikely story of how Milton's epic poem came to haunt political struggles over the past four centuries, including the many different, unexpected, often contradictory ways in which it has been read, interpreted, and appropriated through time and across the world, and to revolutionary ends. The book focuses on twelve readers--including Malcolm X, Thomas Jefferson, George Eliot, Hannah Arendt, and C.L.R James--whose lives demonstrate extraordinary and disturbing influence on the modern age.
Drawing from his own experiences teaching Paradise Lost in New Jersey prisons, English scholar Orlando Reade deftly investigates how the poem was read by people embedded in struggles against tyranny, slavery, colonialism, gender inequality, and capitalist exploitation. It is experimental nonfiction at its finest; rich literary analysis and social, cultural and political history are woven together to make a clarifying case for the undeniable impact of the poem.
About this Author
Orlando Reade studied at Cambridge and Princeton, where he received his PhD in English literature in 2020. For a period of five years, he taught in New Jersey prisons. He is now an assistant professor of English at Northeastern University London. His writing has appeared in publications including The Guardian, Frieze, and The White Review, where he also served as a contributing editor.
Reviews
"[An] excellent debut study . . . This edifying analysis testifies to the enduring power of literature." --Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A fresh consideration of the long and surprising afterlife of John Milton's epic Paradise Lost . . . Edifying, wide-ranging cultural criticism."
--Kirkus Reviews
"This is a rare and extraordinary book. In tracing the surprising revolutionary legacy of Milton's epic, Reade has himself produced a liberatory text. This is not only a book for Milton scholars, but anyone invested in the poetics of freedom struggle."
--Natasha Lennard, author of Being Numerous: Essays on Non-Fascist Life
"Wonderfully written, intelligent and moving. Orlando Reade follows the enduring conversation between Milton's Paradise Lost and revolutionaries across the centuries. Reade reminds us that literature is action, that epic poetry has the power to liberate minds, pens, and voices. Behind every revolution is a song. As it turns out, so often that song has been Paradise Lost."
--Leah Redmond Chang, author of Young Queens: Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power
"Orlando Reade writes with exhilarating style, luminous clarity, and irreverent wit. Each page of What in Me Is Dark is aflame with ideas--on the relation between politics and evil, abolition and poetry--and with the sublimity of Milton's verse, deftly brought alive. Earth may be hell, but fallen angels, as Reade shows, have been our unexpected guides toward freedom and justice."
--Anna Della Subin, author of Accidental Gods: On Men Unwittingly Turned Divine
"With many new discoveries and insights, Orlando Reade tells the story of how Milton's Paradise Lost has inspired crucial figures in literature and politics. Reade writes a new history of liberty, as he shows how Milton has provided an influential and enduring resource for a better world, one for which we still strive."
--Nigel Smith, Princeton University, author of Is Milton Better than Shakespeare?
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