BOOK REVIEWS

OWEN KNIGHT Wind Over Linden Hill, Biography of a Pagan (Black Moon Publishing)

My initial thought was Biography of a Pagan was an explanatory subtitle, but on reading the book, it would appear to be two separate books in one, Wind Over Linden Hill AND Biography of a Pagan, as the first part of the book has no connection with Paganism (some characters are clearly Christian, Father Graeves being an obvious example, and there are others). It is a collection of notes made in the 1930s, based around Owen's life on a farm, but told as fiction. The writing style is poetical and conjures up a vivid picture of a bygone rural age. Some of the characters make idiosyncratic comments that brought a smile to my face, like the conversation about the rare beef mooing for example. The ending is somewhat bizarre, but I won't mention it here as it will spoil it for those who haven't read it.

The next part of the book concerns Owen's discovery of pagan deities from various pantheons, which reads as an allegory of his actual birth. Then there is a biographical section about his childhood, college and army life and his involvement with the hippie scene in the 1960s. He refers to joining a hippie rock band (presumably that was Bitter Blood Street Theatre? For those that don't know Owen, he is now in Blacklight Braille and you can read more about them in the last issue of Aquamarine). There are a few Pagan references in this section also.

Finally there's a couple of poems; one is about orderly gardens being reminiscent of death, but old unused tracks where weeds grow show there is life out there doing its own thing without being controlled by people. The other poem concerns memories of Owen's father.

Paganism is usually defined as an earth-centred religion (or more correctly, an umbrella term for a variety of earth-centred religions). I have unfortunately come across a few people who claim to be Pagan but have little or no respect for the Earth, or indeed for anyone or anything. Instead of being the peace-loving people I'd always associated with Paganism, they express bigoted, racist and violent attitudes and hatred towards people who have different belief systems to them. Paganism is misunderstood as it is by the general public, many of whom equate it with devil worship, which couldn't be further from the truth. These bigoted alleged Pagans are just adding fuel to their opponents' fire in my opinion. Paganism will only be taken seriously as a genuine religion if the people involved can show that they are open minded people and not bigots. Fortunately though, the majority of Pagans I have come into contact with have been open minded, and I can count Owen amongst these. His reverence for Nature permeates these pages, and he gives no indication of being a hateful person. He seems too wise for this.

This is only a short book (68 pages) but is a very enjoyable read and is very nicely presented - a cloth bound hardback with dustjacket which I'd have thought would have been quite expensive to produce. It also contains black and white photos and line drawings by Owen. Contact Owen Knight at 530 Flatt Terrace, Cincinnati, OH 45232-1708, USA.




BLONDIE - FROM PUNK TO THE PRESENT: A PICTORIAL HISTORY compiled by Allan Metz (Musical Legacy Publications)

Blondie was the first band I was ever into (at the age of 3!) and I have never gone off them, so it's great to see this book. It's an enormous volume, an oversized paperback with 512 pages, which includes background info on the New York punk scene Blondie emerged from, lots of articles on the band, including contributions from band members Chris Stein and Gary Valentine and music journalists Victor Bockris and Mick Mercer, a photography section with pictures by Mick Mercer, Mick Rock, Roberta Bayley, Bobby Grossman, Marcia Resnick and others, interviews taken from a range of publications including music websites, newspapers, High Times and the Blondie fanzine Picture This, band profiles and reviews also from newspapers, magazines and websites, a section entitled "Appreciations", in which a variety of people, both journalists and just regular fans, write about why Blondie are so important to them. This section also has portraits of Debbie Harry which previously appeared in the Blondie Review. The quality of these drawings ranges from cartoon-like to highly realistic. Finally there's an appendix with info on bands the members of Blondie were previously in, a Blondie chronology, selected discography, a physiological study of Clem Burke whilst performing in concert, carried out by University College, Chichester (I jest not!), and a list of websites on Blondie. An absolute must for Blondie fans. Contact the compiler at ametz@drury.edu, or visit the book's companion website for more info - www.blondiebook.com

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