Literary Birthday – 9 July – Mervyn Peake
Mervyn Peake was born on 9 July 1911 and died on 17 November 1968.
Mervyn Peake Quotes
- The paper is breathless
Under the hand
And the pencil is poised
Like a warlock’s wand. (The Glassblowers) - Each day I live in a glass room unless I break it with the thrusting of my senses and pass through the splintered walls to the great landscape.
- To live at all is miracle enough.
- There are times when the air that floats between mortals becomes, in its stillness and silence, as cruel as the edge of a scythe.
- Life is too fleet for onomatopoeia.
- We are all imprisoned by the dictionary. We choose out of that vast, paper-walled prison our convicts, the little black printed words, when in truth we need fresh sounds to utter, new enfranchised noises which would produce a new effect.
- I want a lot to eat, I’m going to think today.
Mervyn Peake was an English novelist, poet, painter, playwright, and illustrator. He is best known for the bizarre Titus Groan trilogy of novels: Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950), and Titus Alone (1959). They show eccentric and freakish characters in an idiosyncratic Gothic setting. The trilogy tells the story of Titus as he grows, changes, and rebels against the rules he has always known. It explores power, tradition, and the search for identity. Peake is also known for the illustrations of his novels and of children’s stories. His surreal fiction was influenced by his early love for Charles Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson. He also wrote poetry and literary nonsense in verse form, and short stories for adults and children. His works are now included in the collections of the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, and The National Archives
Source for photograph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mervyn_Peake.jpg
Source for quotes: A-Z Quotes
by Amanda Patterson
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