Online Encyclopedia
Clive Barker
Clive Barker (born October 5, 1952, Liverpool, England) is a British author, director and visual artist.
Barker is one of the leading authors of contemporary horror/fantasy, starting out with pure horror writing early in his career, mostly in the form of short stories (collected in Books of Blood 1 - 6), and later moving towards epic modern-day fantasy with some horror elements. Barker's distinctive style is characterized by the notion of hidden fantastical worlds existing side by side with our own (an idea he shares with contemporary Neil Gaiman), the role of sexuality in the supernatural and the construction of coherent, complex and detailed mythologies.
About him, popular author Stephen King once said : "I have seen the future of horror and its name is Clive Barker."
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Movies
Barker has a keen interest in movie production, although his movies have received varying acclaim (most successful was 1987's Hellraiser, based on his novella "The Hellbound Heart"). His early movies, the shorts The Forbidden and Salome are experimental art movies with surrealist elements, now rereleased together, to moderate critical acclaim. He is currently working on both a series of movie adaptations to his books The Abarat Quartet, under Disney's management, as well as developing a script based from a real Miami, Florida newspaper article, about the creepily-universal supernatural myths homeless children tell one another.
Visual art
Barker is also a prolific and talented visual artist, working in a variety of media, often illustrating his own books, as well as more recently holding independent exhibitions. He worked on the creative side of a horror game, Clive Barker's Undying (Dreamworks Interactive, 2001), to moderate success and acclaim.
Relationships
Clive Barker has been openly gay since the early 1990s, first mentioning his dating life to US audiences in the pages of Advocate magazine. He lives with his husband, a photographer named David Armstrong, in CA, along with a great many pets (dogs, fish, even a bird - named Malingo).
Bibliography
- Novels
- 1985 The Damnation Game
- 1986 The Hellbound Heart
- 1987 Weaveworld
- 1989 The Great and Secret Show (first 'Book of the Art')
- 1991 Imajica
- 1992 The Yattering and Jack (also published in Books of Blood Volume 1)
- 1992 The Thief of Always
- 1994 Everville (second 'Book of the Art')
- 1996 Sacrament
- 1998 Galilee
- 2001 Coldheart Canyon: A Hollywood Ghost Story
- 2002 Abarat (first book of the Abarat Quartet)
- to be published in Fall 2004 (second book of the Abarat Quartet)
- Collections
- 1984-1985 Books of Blood (vols. 1 through 6 were released between 1984 and 1985. vols. 4 through 6 were published in the U.S. as Cabal, In the Flesh , and The Inhuman Condition .)
- 1985 Cabal (titular novella was also published as a Nightbreed mass market paperback)
- 1987 In the Flesh
- 1987 The Inhuman Condition
- 1991 Clive Barker, Illustrator
- 1993
- 1995
- 1996
- Biographies
- 2002 by Douglas E. Winter
See also
External links
- Lost Souls: Clive Barker's Official Website
- Revelations: Clive Barker Information
- Clive Barker's Undying on Mobygames.com