A Finger in Derek Jarman's Mouth

To mark the 30th anniversary of his death, Polari Press are publishing a finger in derek jarman’s mouth. Accompanied by cyanotype impressions, a finger in derek jarman’s mouth is a poetic tribute to Jarman’s inspiring legacy spun from the multi-coloured threads of his extraordinary life – writer, artist, queer and AIDS activist, designer, filmmaker, and gardener.

After his diagnosis Jarman bought Prospect Cottage, facing Dungeness nuclear power station, where he created a beautiful garden in the harshest of environments. Unashamed of his HIV status, Jarman died of AIDS-related illness on the 19 February 1994, aged 52.

Simon Maddrell is a queer Manx poet thriving with HIV in Brighton & Hove. They are published in twenty anthologies and over eighty publications including Acumen, AMBIT, Butcher’s Dog, Poetry Wales, Stand, The Gay & Lesbian Review, The Moth, The Rialto, Under the Radar. In 2020, Simon’s second pamphlet, Queerfella, jointly-won The Rialto Open Pamphlet Competition. In 2023, Isle of Sin (Polari Press) and The Whole Island (Valley Press) were Poetry Book Society Selections.

Standard edition, printed in blue.

Featuring cyanotype illustrations by Peter Collins.

148x210mm

36 text pages

softcover