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Product description William Blake was considered inconsequential at the time of his death in 1827 at the age of 70. The Examiner, 1808, declared "Will
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iam Blake(is) an unfortunate lunatic, whose personal inoffensiveness secures him from confinement ...the poor man fancies himself a great master..." Blake, an autobiographical play of England's great poet, is a one man performance comprised of Blake's visionary and often witty mind. The listener is like one of the artists who took Blake in during the last few months of his life, and is treated to the wondrous and poetic prose of this great man. The play takes Blake from his childhood when he was loved and encouraged by parents who realized he would never make it through regular school, to the young teenager who fell in love with language to the degree of teaching himself Greek, Hebrew and Latin. It continues on to tell of the great love of his life, Catherine, with whom he is married until death. At one moment the performance is sad and tragic, and then flips to humor. Blake (Douglas Campbell) tells each chapter of his characters life with passion, whether it is beauty or pain. Duration: Approximately 1 Hour Full dramatic performance including sound effects and music. From Library Journal Axelrod (Patton on Leadership) blends his skills in business and historical writing in this informative work on the leadership lessons that can be learned from the 45-year reign (1558-1603) of English Queen Elizabeth I. As she ascended the throne, England was embroiled with the Scots and the French and plagued by the Irish rebellion. The treasury was exhausted, the economy was mired in runaway inflation, the population mostly impoverished, and there was no army or navy to speak of. After a marvelous prolog and introduction that sets the stage for her entry into history, Axelrod summarizes how Elizabeth's leadership skills, demonstrated during her tenure, enabled England to soon become the greatest empire the world had ever known. The queen's principles that are linked to today's harried managers include developing a leadership image, establishing priorities, inspiring others, building teams, resolving conflict, and leading by example. While the lessons have all been heard before, the solid, resonant narration by Nelson Runger well serves the importance of this historical link to the realities of modern business. Recommended for all public libraries. Dale Farris, Groves, TX Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. From AudioFile [Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with MY SHAKESPEARE.]--These two recordings, made during the inaugural Bank of Montreal Stratford Festival, were taped before an audience in Toronto and broadcast on CBC Radio. BLAKE is a monologue based on the life of the English poet and engraver. Douglas Campbell sounds like one might imagine Blake himself did, with his ominous narration interrupted by rasping coughs. Much of the narrative is an apologia, in which the poet derides the public for failing to appreciate his work. Between the scenes, Campbell works in several of the best-known poems from Blake's SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE. He keeps the listener rapt throughout, though the inexplicable laughter of the audience in some places suggests that something is lost by not witnessing the stage performance. The idea behind MY SHAKESPEARE is rather clever: Four actors alternate in their portrayal of dozens of historical figures, each of whom shares his or her candid views on the Bard. George Bernard Shaw, Voltaire, Virginia Woolf, a reviewer from THE INDEPENDENT--each takes a minute or two to praise, insult, or mock Shakespeare and his work. It's a performance that demands a variety of accents and the ability to switch characters quickly, and the actors are up to it. However, the novelty soon wears off, and the lack of any narrative thread makes the performance drag, even at just 90 minutes. D.B. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile
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