The Magic Mirror: Thoughts and Reflections on Cecil Collins (Temenos Academy Papers)

The friendship between Cecil Collins (1908-1989) and John Allitt began in the 1970s when they were both teaching at Central St Martins, London. They shared a life-long energy in searching for perennial values, for a hidden spiritual wisdom, and these they explored together through many dialogues and encounters. Perhaps it was the meeting of John’s Christianity with Cecil’s very much looser and more universal, Sufi-like philosophy which stimulated their conversations. Their common interests were many, ranging from Art and Art History through to poetry, literature (Dante), storytelling and music.\nJOHN STEWART ALLITT (1934-2007) was Senior Lecturer in Liberal Studies at the Central St Martins, and an authority on the work of the composers Donizetti and J. S. Mayr. A founder of the Temenos Academy, and one of its Fellows, he specialized in the teaching of Dante at Temenos. He was knighted by the Italian Republic in recognition of his services to Italian culture.