Jeffrey Hipolito has produced a meticulous analysis of the creative oeuvre of Owen Barfield, the man known as the first and last Inkling. While I was familiar with Barfields philosophy, I knew little about his extensive creative output; Hipolito has immersed himself in the literary traditions that shaped Barfields creative oeuvre, deftly contextualizing it for his audience.
Donna L. Potts, Professor and Chair, Department of English, Washington State Universityauthor of Howard Nemerov and Objective Idealism: The Influence of Owen Barfield.
In a style that is at once erudite, eloquent, insightful, and lucid, Owen Barfields Poetry, Drama, and Fiction: Rider on Pegasus provides the first comprehensive elucidation of Barfields literary and poetic works. Jeffrey Hipolito illustrates how the well-known themes and perspectives of Barfields philosophical, linguistic, and critical writings are also central to his imaginative works of fiction, drama, and poetry. Owen Barfield's Poetry, Drama, and Fiction: Rider on Pegasus is an indispensable source for future research on Barfield, which will have to take into account the magnitude and unity of Barfields oeuvre as a writer, poet, and philosopher. In short, Hipolito makes it clear that a complete understanding of Barfield the philosopher is only possible when complemented with an understanding of Barfield the poet (and vice versa).
Dr Luke Fischer, University of Sydney
What should be appreciated about this book is that it places Barfield in the context of both the English poetic tradition of the nineteenth century and of contemporary and modernist poetry, drama, and prose (most prominently, T. S. Eliot) [ Owen Barfields Poetry, Drama, and Fiction] certainly establishes Hipolito as an eminent Barfield scholar who sets the stage for the twenty-first century reception of the First and Last Inkling. His philosophical, poetic, contemplative, and mystical thought is indispensable for those who want to go beyond the present spiritual and cultural crisis of the West towards a broader, integrative vision of reality and our place in it.
Mateusz Stróyski, Professor at Adam Mickiewicz University in Pozna, Poland
