My Voyage in Letters

My Voyage in Letters
written by Julian Darius
550+ pages (in print edition)

For 25 years, Dr. Julian Darius (founder of Sequart Organization) has been a scholar of literature and cinema, splitting his time between academia and writing for a popular audience. His essays frequently blend the two, effortlessly combining an encyclopedic knowledge of history and high art with an equally impressive knowledge of popular culture. He's also broken the mold with innovative styles of non-fiction, producing scholarship of undeniable intellectual rigor in new and challenging formats.

My Voyage in Letters offers a "best of" collection of this massive body of work, containing a huge trove of materials, some of which has been translated, revised, or written for this volume (along with a new introduction). The collection has three sections. The first is the full book Early America in Milton: John Milton's Utopian Anxiety and Milton as "American." The second section is 24 essays on Renaissance literature, with a special emphasis on Shakespeare and Milton; one ingenious essay on John Donne splits itself in half on the page. The final section covers other literature, from Medieval French literature to The Great Gatsby, including essays on Tristram Shandy and Pale Fire that mirror their subjects.

$5.99

Collected Material

$Early America in Milton: John Milton\'s Utopian Anxiety and Milton as \'\'American\'\'$

Early America in Milton: John Milton's Utopian Anxiety and Milton as ''American''
written by Julian Darius
196 pages (in print edition)
Mar 2022

This book-length analysis locates John Milton's work within the history of utopias, which during his life included presentations of the New World. To this end, author Julian Darius constructs an ambitious new framework through which to view this history, including new vocabulary that allows for important distinctions and charts showing the evolving terrain of ideal places within the European mind. A shorter, second portion discusses Miltonic traits later considered "American."

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

$19.99 in print on Amazon
$2.99 on Kindle

$\'\'As great a Curiosity, as a Dictator from the Plow\'\': Prefacing Laboring-Class Poetry$

''As great a Curiosity, as a Dictator from the Plow'': Prefacing Laboring-Class Poetry
written by Julian Darius
May 2022

In the 1700s and 1800s, England experienced a fad for laboring-class poets, who were said to be natural geniuses, unlike learned poets. Individual poets became known by their occupations, such as "the weaver poet." This essay explores how these volumes presented their poets and their contents, navigating the key problem of selling poetry that proclaims its author's inexperience and incompetence.

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

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$\'\'How might she tongue me!\'\': The Verbal Construction of Virtue in Troilus and Cressida and Measure for Measure$

''How might she tongue me!'': The Verbal Construction of Virtue in Troilus and Cressida and Measure for Measure
written by Julian Darius
July 2022

In this cheeky essay, Dr. Julian Darius examines how sexual virtue is orally constructed in two Shakespeare plays: Troilus and Cressida and Measure for Measure.

Collected in both Exit, Pursued by a Bear and My Voyage in Letters.

$0.99 on Kindle

Lear as Philosophy
written by Julian Darius
June 2022

Dr. Julian Darius examines the various philosophical and religious implications of Shakespeare's King Lear.

Collected in both Exit, Pursued by a Bear and My Voyage in Letters.

$0.99 on Kindle

$A Bricklayer Before the King: Ben Jonson\'s Self-Formulation$

A Bricklayer Before the King: Ben Jonson's Self-Formulation
written by Julian Darius
Oct 2022

Dr. Julian Darius explores Ben Jonson's various self-presentations, as primarily seen in his Epigrams and Works. In these, Jonson struggles with his Catholic, working-class background and his own run-ins with the law. In his poetry, Jonson responds anxiously with two different strategies: a poetics of recompense and a poetics of resentment. Ultimately, Darius uncovers how Jonson attempted to use poetry as an escape from his humble beginnings, from his time in prison, from the death of his progeny, and from his frequent financial difficulties.

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

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Exit, Pursued by a Bear: Essays on Shakespeare
written by Julian Darius
Sept 2022

Does the world need another book on Shakespeare? No, but at least this one's fun to read. Essays cover Bardolatry, Othello, King Lear, Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, Troilus and Cressida, and Measure for Measure, and several other plays. This volume collects three previous singles, along with five additional short essays, for a total of nine essays.

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

$2.99 on Kindle

$Milton\'s Satan, Milton\'s God: Was John Milton of the Devil\'s Party?$

Milton's Satan, Milton's God: Was John Milton of the Devil's Party?
written by Julian Darius
Feb 2022

Did John Milton, as William Blake alleged, make Satan the hero of Paradise Lost? How do we understand Milton's Satan -- and his depiction of God, the Son, and the angels? This essay untangles this difficult subject, using examples from popular culture along with scholarly research.

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

$0.99 on Kindle

$Musings on Milton: Essays on John Milton\'s Early Work and Notes on Paradise Lost$

Musings on Milton: Essays on John Milton's Early Work and Notes on Paradise Lost
written by Julian Darius
Mar 2022

This short collection of essays on John Milton begins with a consideration of Milton's religiosity, arguing for a more secular understanding of Milton's fervor. From here, author Julian Darius moves through some of Milton's earlier works, including "At a Vacation Exercise," "On the Morning of Christ's Nativity," and his Ludlow Castle Masque. Finally, three short essays focus narrowly on passages of Paradise Lost.

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

$0.99 on Kindle

Object(ification)s: The Fetishization of the Chastity-Object in the Sullied Handkerchief of Othello
written by Julian Darius
Aug 2022

Dr. Julian Darius examines how objects are used to prove -- and ultimately to replace -- female chastity in Shakespeare's Othello and All's Well that Ends Well. Then, he offers a brief consideration of Othello's depiction of race.

Collected in both Exit, Pursued by a Bear and My Voyage in Letters.

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The Audience of Restoration Theater
written by Julian Darius
Nov 2022

In this essay, Dr. Julian Darius examines the context of Restoration drama, arguing that the often rowdy audience must be understood as a key component of the show, which was as much a social occasion and a brothel as a play as we understand it. This is especially important in considering the bawdy and metatextual aspects of Restoration drama. Also included is a short essay on John Dryden's All for Love and John Banks's The Unhappy Favorite.

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

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The Cult of Sandblasting: George Sand and Criticism
written by Julian Darius
Dec 2022

In this essay, Dr. Julian Darius examines the reception of George Sand using postmodern theory and argues that Sand criticism has always dealt with a fixture or a construct of Sand, rather than the woman herself.

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

$0.99 on Kindle

The English Renaissance Audience
written by Julian Darius
Sept 2022

In this searching examination of English Renaissance literature, Dr. Julian Darius examines the role and the importance of the audience in understanding William Shakespeare, John Donne, Ben Jonson, and John Milton.

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

$0.99 on Kindle

$Two Essays on John Donne: \'\'The Bait\'\' as Pornography and Biathanatos as Postmodern Paradox$

Two Essays on John Donne: ''The Bait'' as Pornography and Biathanatos as Postmodern Paradox
written by Julian Darius
Apr 2022

Julian Darius offers two unique readings of Donne. In the first essay, he argues for a pornographic reading of "The Bait" (and other Renaissance literature). In the second, he explores the paradox of Biathantos by offering two contradictory readings, separated on the same page by a "false thread."

Collected in My Voyage in Letters.

$0.99 on Kindle