Reading at Poetry on the Lake Festival, Orta, Italy

I will be reading at the Poetry on the Lake Festival in Orta, Italy at the end of next month. The festival runs for the final weekend of September, 28th-30th. The festival has been memorably described by Carol Ann Duffy as 'perhaps the smallest but possibly the most perfect poetry festival in the world.'

'At Bagno Vignoni' wins 2nd prize

My poem 'At Bagno Vignoni (Homage to Tarkovsky's Nostalghia)' has won second prize in the Cinema Competition organised by the Poetry on the Lake festival in Italy. The festival takes place 28-30 September in Orta, Italy. I hope to be appearing at the festival.

My poem is a lightly fictionalised version of a visit to Bagno Vignoni I made in the summer of 2007, but also makes reference to various other things: Tarkovsky's earlier film Andrei Rublev, and Luigi Nono's tribute to Tarkovsky, No hay caminos, hay que caminar.....Andrej Tarkowskij.

The photo above was taken by Filippo Schillaci, who has done great work in researching the locations Tarkovsky filmed in. More of his work on Nostalghia can be found here.

History of the Cathars - Out in November 2018

The History of the Cathars will be published in November. This is a new edition of The Cathars: The Rise and Fall of the Great Heresy, with a new title and new cover. The text will remain the same as the existing edition.

More info here.