Clive Barker

Clive Barker (born October 5, 1952, Liverpool, England) is a British author, director and visual artist. He studied English and Philosophy at Liverpool university. 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."

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. After his film Nightbreed, which was widely considered to be a flop, Barker returned to write and direct Lord of Illusions. He is currently working on a series of movie adaptations of his The Abarat Quartet books, under Disney's management; a script based from a real Miami, Florida newspaper article, about the creepily-universal supernatural myths homeless children tell one another; and a film based on his Tortured Souls line of toys from McFarlane Toys. A short story from 'The Books of Blood' collection provided the basis for the film "Candyman" and its sequels.

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 developed by DreamWorks Interactive and released in 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 partner, a photographer named David Armstrong, and daughter Nicole, in CA, along with a great many pets (dogs, fish, even a bird - named Malingo).

Bibliography

See also

External links

Barker, Clive Barker, Clive Barker, Clive Barker, Clive Barker, Clive

 

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