A Lecture upon the Shadow. The Secret Life of Margaret Ann Mensaert - MARGARET ANN Harrell

What is it like to live with a wildly creative poet if you are a writer yourself?

1983. A lecture at the Jung Institute Zurich. "Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath-they were examples of the anima female. Marilyn Monroe too," the famed Jungian analyst/author Marion Woodman was saying. Listening to her, I knew: A Lecture upon the Shadow is about the anima female! She read the manuscript, very moved, confirming it was written unconsciously. I might have to wait ten years for everybody to understand it, she predicted. That's more than FORTY years ago! Will people understand it now? Be helped? Are there any other "anima females" out there, acting as muses?

A Lecture upon the Shadow is a zany look at a dysfunctional, intoxicated writer couple who use creativity in their relationship at an explosive level. Marion Woodman calls this "the anima female," that is, a situation where the female links into the creative unconscious of the male, making their tie absorbing. Unavoidable. A fueling station. Told a lot through conversation, it is based in a true story that illuminates the familiar predicament of "can't live with you/can't live without you." However, Merry Loup and Knut Karel spin a fascinating narrative. Join them in their travels and bohemian lifestyle, mostly in Morocco.