Clive Barker is the rarest of talents in the literary world. An author who writes adeptly for both children and adults, an acclaimed artist that often illustrates his own work, an accomplished filmmaker, and the recipient of many prestigious awards in various areas (see attached biography for details), Barker is a multi-talented creator that knows no bounds in creativity.
I first became aware of Barker as a teenager, when I read an article about his acclaimed six volumes of short fiction, the “Books of Blood.” No less an expert than Stephen King declared him “the future of horror” on the cover of each volume, and King was soon proved right as the volume made Barker an overnight sensation. The books went on to win both the British and World Fantasy Awards, and are considered by horror fans to be amongst the greatest horror fiction ever produced. Various of the stories also went on to be produced as films, notably “Lord of Illusions” (which Barker himself adapted and directed), “The Forbidden” (adapted as “Candyman”) and more recently, “The Midnight Meat Train,” which starred popular screen star Bradley Cooper. Barker also directed various other adaptations of his work, including the first installment of the hugely popular, ongoing “Hellraiser” series, which was based on his novella “The Hellbound Heart.”
However, Barker has, in more recent times, become better known as a respected author of children’s literature, beginning with the acclaimed “The Thief of Always” in 1992 and, more recently, including the “Arabat” series, the third volume (of a proposed five- book series) of which was released earlier this year. The first volume, released in 2002, received a Bram Stoker Award nomination for Best Work for Young Readers and was picked as one of the Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association. The follow-up, Arabat: Days of Magic, Nights of War, went on to win the aforementioned Stoker award in 2004. The third volume, Arabat: Absolute Midnight, was released just this year, on September 27th, and was an immediate bestseller, following in the footsteps of its predecessors. Barker did the lavish illustrations himself, which are reprints of oil paintings he slaved over for years. Indeed, before he even started writing the series, he already had amassed a jaw-dropping 300 paintings!
Though Barker still works within the horror/fantasy genre for his children’s literature, the genre has never been more popular amongst young readers, with the enormous success of books like Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series and L.J. Smith’s best-selling “The Vampire Diaries” and “The Secret Circle” series. However, while those writers write in relatively simplistic prose and are perhaps best termed “guilty pleasures,” Barker never talks down to his audience, writing in beautifully-wrought and colorful prose that transports his readers to different worlds that are incredibly detailed and imagined, helped all the more by his phenomenal illustrations. For those who seek something a bit richer and more fulfilling than “Twilight,” his “Arabat” series is the perfect antidote, with a strong and likable heroine and a much more involved storyline than that series.
Barker was born in 1952 in Liverpool, England, where he studied English Literature and Philosophy at Liverpool University, coming into prominence in the mid-80s. In addition to his work as a writer, filmmaker and artist, he has also written plays, designed videogames, created a line of best-selling Halloween costumes, and contributed storylines to several highly-successful comic book series, and has his own imprint, Razorline, with Marvel Comics, for which he creates, designs, writes, and contributes characters and premises. Barker shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon, and will no doubt continue to thrill and entertain for years to come.
Class Assignment
Before Clive Barker even started writing his book series "Arabat," he had already amassed some 300 paintings dedicated to his ideas for the fantasy world. Although this is a most unusual approach for an author to typically take, it must have been a helpful one when it came to actually writing the story Barker had to tell. Think of a story you would like to tell, and instead of putting pen/pencil to paper, try drawing a picture instead, using crayons or markers. Illustrate several pictures to tell the story you have in mind, then follow it up by actually writing the story to go along with the pictures, instead of the other way around!
Submit your pictures and story via the comments section.
Resources
Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Barker)
eNotes (http://www.enotes.com/topic/Clive_Barker)
The Official Clive Barker Resource (http://www.clivebarker.info/news.html)
The Beautiful Moment- The Official Clive Barker Website for All Ages (http://www.clivebarker.info/beautifulmoment.html)
