Book description
his is a revised and enlarged edition of John Moriarty's first
published work, which has been out of print since 1994. A Book of
Revelations mediated by stories and personal excursions in literature,
philosophy and sacred writings, Moriarty articulates the wisdom of
humanity, drawing on cultural landscapes in India, China, Egypt,
Australia, the Americas and Europe. Now recognized as a classic of
spiritual writing, it enlarges our capacity for symbolic understanding
in an age of millennial anxiety. 'John Moriarty weaves an
extraordinary tapestry of myths and memories, drawing on the riches of
a dazzling variety of cultures to conjure up a personal vision of a
world alive to spirituality. He has none of the dangerous certainty of
the wide-eyed mystic and writes with grace and subtlety, an
enthralling reminder that religion is supposed to be about openness,
daring and humility.' - Fintan O'Toole, The Irish Times 'This is one
of the most extraordinary books ever published in Ireland. Not this
year, not this last decade, not this century, but ever. Moriarty, an
ex-academic who has worked as a gardener in the West of Ireland for
many years, here takes on almost every one of the world's great
religions and many of its mythologies, particularly Ireland's, in an
attempt to embody a way to live in our time... a milestone in
contemporary Irish literature and thought.' - Brian Lynch, Evening
Press 'A thing of beauty, at once a Greek temple and a Christian
basilica, read any one episode carefully and you will find every other
episode begin to reflect it. John Moriarty does not claim to have
prophetic foresight in any ordinary sense, yet Dreamtime is surely a
work of rare prophetic power for those who have ears to hear.' - Noel
O'Donoghue, The Furrow
John Moriarty, writer and philosopher, was born in Kerry in 1938 and
educated at Listowel and University College Dublin. He taught English
literature at Manitoba University in Canada for six years, returning to
Ireland in 1971. He is author of three volumes of Turtle Was Gone a Long
Time: Crossing the Kedron (1996), Horsehead Nebula Neighing (1997) and
Anaconda Canoe (1998). In 1997 he hosted a major six-part RTE television
series, 'The Blackbird & the Bell'. He lives down from the Horse's
Glen at the foot of Mangerton Mountain in north Kerry.
