"Remarkably, the inspiration for Stewart’s materialism occurred on a tempestuous crossing of the Persian Gulf in 1787--a near-fatal ordeal for which Stewart (foreshadowing Coleridge’s Ancient Mariner) was blamed by the rest of the vessel’s crew. Stewart would spend the rest of his life, Mariner-like, haranguing whomever he met with details of the vision of material oneness he had experienced on board [...] one cannot help wondering whether Godwin, by introducing Coleridge to 'Walking' Stewart in January 1800, may have brought the poet and his quasi-creation uncannily face to face." Kelly Grovier • TLS

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