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, such as Nightbreed, based on the novel Cabal. The 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
- 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
- 2005 The Scarlet Gospels (short stories)
- Biographies
- 2002 by Douglas E. Winter
See also
External links
