In my most recent lecture for MA Poetics of Imagination at Dartington Arts School, I considered the production of medieval books. I hope some of the students are now busy making their own writing surfaces, inks and pigments. To survive into the 21st century these medieval books had to run the gauntlet of flood, fire, war,…
Of things I’d rather keep in silence I must sing
I’m currently preparing a teaching session for MA Poetics of Imagination at Dartington Arts School on the troubadours and trobairitz, which put me in mind of a wonderful writing residency I had a few years ago in the beautiful medieval village of Saint-Cirq-Lapopie in France. In 2016, I collaborated with artist Tania Candiani on an…
Nest ferch Rhys
Video interview with me by Ellie Daniels on researching my latest historical novel, The Anarchy, is here. We discuss the story of Nest ferch Rhys, the heroine of my story, and how I set about researching early medieval Welsh history. I drew on the scant primary sources on Nest – Brut y Tywysogion (Chronicle of…
The Anarchy – video interview
Just posted – a video interview with me on writing The Anarchy with editor Ellie Daniel. We discussed castles in Wales, the little-known women of early medieval history, research for historical fiction, and the character of King Henry I. My latest newsletter is now available. If you are not already on my mailing list you…
The Anarchy out now in paperback
It is available to order at last! The e-book of my latest novel, The Anarchy, was published in June, but due to coronavirus disruptions for printers, distributors, and publishers, the paperback edition is only just now reaching many online retailers. The Anarchy is the final book in the Conquest series focused on Nest ferch Rhys, the daughter of…
Smoke and Mirrors
My review of Sophia Tobin’s novel, A Map of the Damage, is Editor’s Choice in the new issue of Historical Novels Review. ‘A scintillating novel of smoke and mirrors set in the glass-loaded Mirrormakers Club in London…. The novel vividly confronts us with the physical damage of the Blitz and makes us alive to the emotional…
The Sound of the Middle Ages
I look at the now deserted and stagnant lavoirs, the communal washing places, in the Lot Valley in France and can almost hear women singing, gossiping about mistresses and neighbours, and slapping wet laundry against the stone papillon slabs. My article, ‘The Sound of the Middle Ages‘, has just been published in Historical Novels Review.
Hyperlocal
My latest interview for the Call Centre art research project on the coronavirus pandemic is with artist Tine Bech. We contemplated the pull of home and the imperative to move out from home. We discussed our new sense of hyperlocal arising from the lockdown. You can see a summary of our conversation and more on…
Wu Wei Workshop
Wu Wei is the sense of letting go, of letting yourself be spacious so that the universe can come in. Friday 31 July 2020 19.00-21.30 & Saturday 1 August 2020 11.00-18.00 (European time) On Zoom 50 euros, Registration deadline: 23 July 2020, info@gresolart.com (English, Castellano and Catalan spoken. Flyer also available in Castellano and Catalan.)…
Taking a Line for a Walk
Alan Smith talking on his COVID-19 drawings. Part of the Call Centre art research project on the coronavirus crisis by Tracey Warr. Being and getting home. Experiences of time and momentum. Images emerge from the marks like something uncertainly perceived in flickering candlelight in chthonic darkness underground. Drawing, Alan says, is ‘thinking that happens on the…
