To mark the 20th anniversary of Derek Jarman’s death, Test Centre has produced a facsimile edition of his sole, early, extremely rare poetry book A Finger in the Fishes Mouth, originally published in 1972.
Heavily illustrated from Jarman’s collection of postcards, the book combines text and visual imagery in a way which foreshadows his subsequent style as an artist and filmmaker. With the majority of the first edition having been destroyed by Jarman, this new edition makes available a missing, significant piece of his oeuvre.
The facsimile retains the book’s original format, with a silver mirror cover, and an image accompanying each poem, printed in a striking green ink. Additional material comes in the form of a new Foreword and Afterwords by Sophie Mayer, Tony Peake and Keith Collins.
A Finger in the Fishes Mouth is the only book being published as part of Jarman 2014, a year-long season of events to celebrate Jarman’s life and work.
The book will be launched with a special event at the London Review Bookshop on 19th February, 20 years to the day since Jarman’s death. For more information, and to book tickets, click here. The book is available for preorder on the Test Centre website.