William Willeford brings his remarkable combination of analytical acumen and poetic sensibility to bear on the elements of his new book, Feeling, Imagination, and the Self. Here the range of Willeford's empathic psychological insight extends to such forms as drama, poetry, medieval theological terms, group therapy in a psychiatric clinic, and blues music. The breadth of his material-from the Bible and King Lear to love charms and the lyrics of Howlin' Wolf-permits comprehensive exploration of such important themes in the life of the imagination as mutuality, the primacy of feeling in relation to logical reason, and respecting "the self that knows what is good for itself."

The larger theme of the book is the life of the psyche, here made more evident by an examination of some of its elusive elements. This life is in basic ways formed and nurtured by the interaction of mother and child. In this primary relationship-as the subtitle of the book implies-Willeford finds seeds of artistic creation, philosophical thought, and religious experience.

Willeford is a Jungian analyst of many years experience and a professor of English and Comparative Literature. He finds what Jung called the reality of the psyche deeply alive in literature and other cultural artifacts. Willeford goes far beyond the mechanical application of psychological theory to the humanities to produce original reflections on what creative materials can tell us about the psyche.

The author moves gracefully among frames of reference from the his- torical and philosophical to the practical, humanistic concern with "individuation." His is scholarship for the general reader intent on exploring psychic depths, emotional ambiguities, and emerging patterns of awareness.