Join us to celebrate the launch of a finger in derek jarman’s mouth by Simon Maddrell, with queer transnational Palestinian poet Saif Sidari.
Simon will be reading from their new pamphlet a finger in derek jarman’s mouth — poetry in memory of Derek Jarman, marking thirty years after his death from AIDS-related illness.
Includes a reading by Saif Sidari, followed by a Q&A.
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 in 1994, aged 52.
‘A loving, furious and gorgeously queer act of homage’
–– Neil Bartlett
‘Derek Jarman becomes a celestial mirror ball, radiating inspiration from the heart of this poem-shrine lovingly “filled with music”’
–– alice hiller
'Stands as a testament to Jarman's enduring legacy'
–– Peter Tatchell
‘One of the most radical figures in queer culture honoured by the most propulsive of queer poets’
–– Joelle Taylor
The first edition of the book is limited to 130 copies, available to pre-order online.
Order ASAP to guarantee your copy as we can't guarantee their availability at the event.
Simon Maddrell (he/they) 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. He has also collaborated with Vasiliki Albedo and Mary Mulholland on the anthologies: All About Our Mothers (2022); All About Our Fathers (2023) as well as All About Our Parents forthcoming in 2024 from Nine Pens Press.
Saif Sidari (he/him) is a queer transnational poet from Palestine, living in Brighton & Hove. He is a doctoral researcher at the University of Brighton in English Literature. His poetry is described as a time capsule in-conflict, where every piece is in some aspect an effort to return, for better or worse, to the lost and beaten body. His work has been featured in Bad Lilies, Ghost City Press, Blink-Ink, and Eunoia Review.