FALLEN ANGELS by Bloom, Harold (Author) & Podwal, Mark (Artist) - 2007

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. As New/As New Dust Jacket.. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2007. Hardcover. As New/As New. First Edition/First Printing. 71 pages. Book-length essay on subject, accompanied by original art. One of the finest and most beautiful books on subject. The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent printings. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only by a University Press. The First Edition is now scarce. A brilliant production by Mark Podwal: Small-size volume format. Deep blue cloth boards with metallic-silver titles embossed on spine, as issued. Text by Harold Bloom. Art by Mark Podwal. The latter are called "illuminations", and include "Good Versus Evil" on the cover, one of the finest contemporary renditions of religious iconography. Printed on pristine-white thick coated stock paper by EuroGraphica SPA in Italy to the highest standards. In pictorial DJ with titles on the cover and spine, as issued. Presents, in an elegant, small-size format, Harold Bloom's "Fallen Angels". His heterodox interpretation of the meaning of angels. The art by Mark Podwal is integral to the book, worthy of being called illuminations because they are not mere additions. "Harold Bloom begins by observing our present-day obsession with angels, which reached its greatest intensity as the current millennium approached. Bloom is especially concerned with a particular sub-species of angels: Fallen angels. He proceeds to examine representations of fallen angels from Zoroastrian texts and the Bible to Milton's 'Paradise Lost' to Tony Kushner's 'Angels in America', arguing that familiarity with this rich literary tradition improves our reading and spiritual lives. Bloom's text is accompanied by original watercolors, line drawings, and illuminated letters by award-winning artist Mark Podwal. Every angel is terrifying, Rilke wrote. For Bloom, too, this is true in one sense, since he maintains that all angels are fallen angels. The image of Satan, the greatest of fallen angels, retains the ability to fascinate and frighten us, he argues, because we share a close kinship with him. Indeed, from a human perspective, we must agree that we are fallen angels. Fallen-ness is ultimately a human condition: The recognition of our own mortality. Throughout world literature, angels have always served as metaphors for death. We may take consolation, however, in our double awareness that angels also represent love and the celebration of human possibilities" (Publisher's blurb). "Otherness is the essence of angels, but then it is our essence also" (Harold Bloom). An absolute "must-have" title for Harold Bloom collectors. <b><i> This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online, is still in the publisher's original shrinkwrap, and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: Copies available online have serious flaws, are subsequent printings, or are remainder-marked. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A scarce copy thus. </b></i> 12 color plates. The greatest literary critic of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER HAROLD BLOOM TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0300123485.