The Power of Myth

Front Cover
Anchor Books, 1991 - Philosophy - 293 pages
The Power Of Myth launched an extraordinary resurgence of interest in Joseph Campbell and his work. A preeminient scholar, writer, and teacher, he has had a profound influence on millions of people. To him, mythology was the "song of the universe, the music of the spheres." ;With Bill Moyers, one of America's most prominent journalists, as his thoughtful and engaing interviewer, The Power Of Myth touches on subjects from modern marriage to virgin births, from Jesus to John Lennon, offering a brilliantcombination of intelligence and wit.

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About the author (1991)

Joseph Campbell was born in White Plains, New York on March 26, 1904. He received a B.A. in English literature in 1925 and an M.A. in Medieval literature in 1927 from Columbia University. He was awarded a Proudfit Traveling Fellowship to continue his studies at the University of Paris. After he had received and rejected an offer to teach at his high school alma mater, his Fellowship was renewed, and he traveled to Germany to resume his studies at the University of Munich. During the year he was housemaster of Canterbury School, he sold his first short story, Strictly Platonic, to Liberty magazine. In 1934, he accepted a position in the literature department at Sarah Lawrence College, a post he would retain until retiring in 1972. During his lifetime, he wrote more than 40 books including The Hero with a Thousand Faces, The Mythic Image, the four-volume The Masks of God, and The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers. During the 1940s and 1950s, he collaborated with Swami Nikhilananda on translations of the Upanishads and The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. He received several awards including National Institute of Arts and Letters Award for Contributions to Creative Literature and the 1985 National Arts Club Gold Medal of Honor in Literature. He died after a brief struggle with cancer on October 30, 1987.

Bill Moyers, June 5, 1934 - Bill Moyers was born in Hugo, Oklahoma, on June 5, 1934. He attended North Texas State College, the University of Texas at Austin, earning his Bachelor's Degree in Journalism in 1956, the University of Edinburgh in Scotland from 1956 to 1957 and the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas in 1959. After college, Moyers joined the staff of Senator Lyndon B. Johnson as his personal assistant, from 1960 to 1961. From 1961 to 1962, Moyers was the associate director of public affairs for the Peace Corps, and deputy director of the Peace Corps in 1963. He later joined Johnson again, this time as special assistant to the President, from 1963 to 1967. He became the Press Secretary, in 1965 until 1967. That same year, he began as publisher of Newsday, holding the position until 1970. He then became producer and editor of the Bill Moyers' Journal for PBS from 1971-76, and an anchor for USA: People and Politics from 1978 till 1981. In 1976 he joined CBS as chief correspondent for CBS Reports for two years. He was the senior news analyst for CBS News from 1981 to 1986 and has been executive editor of Public Affairs Programming Inc. since 1986. Over the course of his many years in journalism, Bill Moyers has earned and received many awards and honors, among them, an Honorary doctorate, from the American Film Institute; numerous Emmy Awards; the Ralph Lowell medal for contribution to public television; George Peabody awards, 1976, 1980, 1985-86, 1988-90; DuPont/Columbia Silver Baton award, 1979, 1986, 1988; Gold Baton award, 1991; and the George Polk awards, 1981, 1986.

Jill Nokes is a landscape designer in Austin, Texas.

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