gust for paradise, A
Book Description
In this richly woven exploration, Diane Kelsey McColley invites readers to rediscover the profound spiritual wisdom embedded in humanity's earliest creative expressions. Drawing from John Milton's Paradise Lost and other seventeenth-century English poetry alongside medieval and Renaissance visual arts, this study reveals how artists across centuries have reimagined Eden as a source of healing and renewal.
At the heart of this work lies a transformative vision of Adam and Eve as the first artists and earth-keepers, engaged in what Milton called the "daily work of body or mind." McColley illuminates how these primal figures developed the foundational arts of language, music, worship, and governance while discovering technologies that honored rather than harmed the natural world. Their gardening becomes a sacred practice of tending not just plants, but the entire earth as a living masterpiece.
Rather than focusing solely on humanity's fall from grace, McColley uncovers a neglected tradition that celebrates original righteousness and regenerative creativity. This perspective offers modern readers a pathway toward what she terms "Edenic consciousness" - an awareness that perceives the intricate harmonies connecting all creation.
Through examining how northern European artists and English poets crafted what McColley calls "Paradisal language," readers discover how creative expression can weave together form, sound, image, and meaning as seamlessly as nature itself weaves life. This multidisciplinary approach offers contemporary seekers a vision of art and spirituality as tools for both personal transformation and ecological healing.
Who Is This For?
📖 Reading Level: Medium (200-400 pages) (~8 hours)
📄 Length: 305 pages
What You'll Discover
- ✓ Explore Art et littérature
- ✓ Explore Eden in literature
- ✓ Explore Paradise in literature
- ✓ Explore Adam (Personnage biblique) dans la littérature
- ✓ Explore Paradis dans l'art
- ✓ Explore Histoire
- ✓ Explore Milton, john, 1608-1674, paradise lost
- ✓ Study Bible from spiritual perspective
