Patti Smith and The Verve have all named him as an inspiration. William Blake died suddenly on August 12, 1827, but his work has inspired artists ever since. In Blake’s final years of poverty and despair, he completed two of his most famous and respected religious works, Jerusalem and Milton.īut in 1818, he Blake began to be recognized by a new group of poets and artists for the revolutionary genius that he was, and
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He soon returned to London, where a series of events began a downward spiral into dispair, after a series of his works were stolen and plagiarised.
He moved to Felpham, east Sussex, in 1803, and began his work on his final epic prophecy, Jerusalem.
Other books, now hailed as some of the best ever written, include Visions of the Daughters of Albion, The Song of Los, and The Book of Urizen. The first was a collection of short rhymed stanzas and the The Book Of Thel was a 'prophetic' book looking at the future in turbulent times, published in the same year as the French Revolution.īlake, who married Catherine Boucher in 1982 but never had any children, published his most iconic works between 7īooks including Songs of Experience, The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, America: A Prophecy, Europe: A Prophecy, all showed the rebellious poet's support for revolution. In 1789, Blake published Songs of Innocence and The Book of Thel, which did not make him a rich man during his lifetime but has become one of history's most enduring poetry works. He studied art and engraving, winning a place at the Royal Academy of Art, but it is his poetry that remains his biggest legacy.
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William Blake was a 19th century writer and artist who is regarded as a seminal figure of the Romantic Age.īorn in London in 1757, he claimed to have had a vision - a tree full of angels - when he was just ten years old, and these visions would have a lasting effect on his writings. William Blake 1757 to 1857, the English poet, painter and printmaker who has inspired artists for more than a century since his death 'The Syria refugee crisis is one of our main priorities at the moment and this money could help provide tents, water and clothing for families who desperately need it. 'One of the volunteers priced it at 50p and put it out but fortunately the mistake was spotted and it is due to be sold at auction in London - it could raise at least £1,200 for Oxfam. 'Thom came into the store about eight months ago with a few books to donate and this was one of them. 'I wrote to Thom Yorke, to let him know the book could be sold at auction and he contacted head office to say that would be fine for us to sell it as we saw fit. 'It's amazing to think this song on OK Computer was inspired by the poetry of William Blake - this could well be the first draft of Airbag. 'The book is a tatty Penguin 1960s paperback of Songs of Innocence and Experience, but Yorke's lyrics and the annotations make it very special. We knew it must have been one of Thom's books as we had been talking about another one that he had donated only the week before. 'Alex had been flicking through the poetry books on sale while he was stood at the till and told me to take a look. 'We realised that the book was of considerable interest as it showed the influence for the song and a direct link between Blake's verses and Thom's inspiration. Mr Chapman said: 'I'm a big Radiohead fan, so when another volunteer, Alex Barker, showed me the book, I immediately realised that it shouldn't have been on sale for 50p and took it off the shelf.