Jung Chicago Radio Jung in the World | Approaching Carl Jung’s Red Book: Liber Novus with George Bright
Jung regarded his Red Book: Liber Novus as the record of “the numinous beginning, which contained everything.” In his lifetime, Jung only showed this book to a handful of trusted colleagues whom he thought truly grasped the nature of the book’s vivid confrontations with the unconscious. Its publication in 2009, and translation into many languages, now gives us all the opportunity to engage with it. In conversation with Patricia Martin, the internationally respected Jungian scholar George Bright discusses how and why Jung wrote and painted his Red Book, and draws out key themes that help us understand Jung’s encounter with his soul as chronicled in the Red Book. Bright suggests why reading the enigmatic work may be worth the effort in service of our own transformation.
George Bright was educated at Cambridge University and The London School of Economics. He is a Training & Supervising Analyst of the Society of Analytical Psychology and a co-founder of The Circle of Analytical Psychology, a London-based group which provides two-year courses to study Jung’s Liber Novus and Black Books. He has worked in private practice in London for the past 35 years. His 1997 paper Synchronicity as a basis of analytic attitude won the Michael Fordham Prize.
Patricia Martin, MFA, is the host of Jung in the World. A noted cultural analyst, she applies Jungian theory to her work as a researcher and writer. Author of three books, her work has been featured in the New York Times, Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, and USA Today. She holds an MFA in writing and literature from Bennington College and an MA in cultural studies at the University College, Dublin (honors). In 2018, she completed the Jungian Studies Program at the C. G. Jung Institute Chicago where she is a professional affiliate. A scholar in residence at the Chicago Public Library, for the last decade she’s been studying the digital culture and its impact on the individuation process. Patricia travels the world giving talks and workshops based on her findings, and has a private consulting practice in Chicago.
You can support this free podcast by making a donation, becoming a member of the Institute, or making a purchase in our online store. Your support enables us to provide free and low-cost educational resources to all.
This podcast is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. You may share it, but please do not change it, sell it, or transcribe it.
Executive Producer: Ben Law
Hosts: Patricia Martin, Judith Cooper, Daniel Ross, Adina Davidson, and Raisa Cabrera
2023-2024 Season Interns: Claire Weber, Harris Lencz
Music: Michael Chapman