Clive Barker: Dark Imaginer

Clive Barker: Dark imaginer explores the diverse literary, film and visionary creations of the polymathic and influential British artist Clive Barker. In this necessary and timely collection, innovative essays by leading scholars in the fields of literature, film and popular culture explore Barker’s contribution to gothic, fantasy and horror studies, interrogating his creative legacy. The volume consists of an extensive introduction and twelve groundbreaking essays that critically reevaluate Barker’s oeuvre. These include in-depth analyses of his celebrated and lesser known novels, short stories, theme park designs, screen and comic book adaptations, film direction and production, sketches and book illustrations, as well as responses to his material from critics and fan communities. Clive Barker: Dark imaginer reveals the breadth and depth of Barker’s distinctive dark vision, which continues to fascinate and flourish.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: ‘To darken the day and brighten the night’: Clive Barker, dark imaginer – Sorcha Ní Fhlainn Part I: Origins 1 ‘Visions of another Albion’: the Books of Blood and the horror of 1980s Britain – Darryl Jones 2 ‘Marks of weakness, marks of woe’: the Books of Blood and the transformation of the weird – Kevin Corstorphine 3 When fantasy becomes reality: social commentary of 1980s Britain in Clive Barker’s Weaveworld ­– Edward Timothy Wallington Part II: Screening Barker 4 The joyless magic of Lord of Illusions – Harvey O’Brien 5 Drawing (to) fear and horror: into the frame of Clive Barker’s The Midnight Meat Train and Dread comic and film adaptations – Bernard Perron 6 Beauty, pain and desire: gothic aesthetics and feminine identification in the filmic adaptations of Clive Barker – Brigid Cherry Part III: Labyrinths of desire 7 Clive Barker's queer monsters: exploring transgression, sexuality and the other – Mark Richard Adams 8 Breaking through the canvas: towards a definition of (meta)cultural blackness in the fantasies of Clive Barker – Tony M. Vinci 9 ‘A far more physical experience than the cinema affords’: Clive Barker’s Halloween Horror Nights and brand authorship – Gareth James Part IV: Legacy 10 ‘What price wonderland?’: Clive Barker and the spectre of realism – Daragh Downes 11 Clive Barker’s late (anti-)horror fiction: Tortured Souls and Mister B. Gone’s new myths of the flesh – Xavier Aldana Reyes 12 The Devil and Clive Barker: Faustian bargains and gothic filigree – Sorcha Ní Fhlainn Index

About the Author :
Sorcha Ní Fhlainn is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies and American Literature, and a founding member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University

Review :
'No less boundary-crossing and boundary-pushing than the fantastique oeuvre of its subject matter, Sorcha Ní Fhlainn’s edited collection ranges superbly across Clive Barker’s dark fiction, films, fandom, theme park experiences, action figures, and "anti-horror". It is unafraid to provoke critical debate, alert to established ways of reading Barker, and sometimes even wary of the entrapping danger of a celebratory blurb or endorsement. But have no fear, because I have seen the future of scholarly work on Clive Barker… and its name is Dark Imaginer.' Professor Matt Hills, author of Fan Cultures and The Pleasures of Horror This collection of essays provides a fascinating account of the work of writer, director and artist Clive Barker. Barker emerges as an important, complex and challenging figure whose fantasy-based outputs across various media forms are capable of sustaining a range of critical approaches and treatments. It might be argued that the most significant and influential part of Barker’s career lies in the 1980s and 1990s, but the collection also finds interesting and provocative things to say about the work done by Barker since that period. I do not doubt that Clive Barker – Dark Imaginer will find its place in the burgeoning fantasy, gothic and horror studies scene. Peter Hutchings, Professor of Film Studies, Northumbria University ‘All in all, Dark Imaginer fills the gap in the academictreatment of Barker’s works and gives a good overview of his beauty marks,warts and all.’ Dejan Ognjanovic, Ninth Circle