D. J. Enright (1920–2002)

Exactly what it says on the tin: a survey of supernatural themes and motifs across literature, both fiction and non-fiction accounts. Included are excerpts from journals, letters, plays, poems, scientific research, conspiracy theories, classic literature, newspaper articles, etc. Themes range from ghosts, witches and familiars, mediumship (and the fraud thereof), Spiritualism, angels, conspiracies, devils/Satan, paganism, paranormal entities, good v evil, and believers v nonbelievers. This was originally published in 1994, and it would be interesting to see an update that encompasses all of the paranormal "reality TV" that seems to have exploded in the popularity in the last twenty years. Mediums certainly have a different reputation today than they did in the 1900s, for example.

The editor is a poet, and that's obvious with all of the poetry that's included. I could've done without all of the 'original English' excerpts from the Renaissance period, too - all of that phonetic spelling was hard to parse.

All in all, it was definitely worth the price I paid when this was sold at a local library sale.… (més)

A great introduction to irony by discussing its practice. What better way than to begin with Socrates whose dialogues, as presented by Plato, demonstrate the epitome of ironic presence. The examples of irony are not limited to philosophy, but include a wealth of literary progenitors and further discussion that includes politics, censorship, love, and death. Especially delightful is the discussion of the ironic treatment of writing and reading - this in turn is seen with ironic suspicion by at least the present avid reader.… (més)