Dancing Ledge
From his sexual awakening in postwar England to life in the sixties and beyond, Derek Jarman tells his life story with the in-your-face immediacy that became his trademark style in both his films and writing. Accompanied by nearly one hundred photographs of Jarman, his friends, lovers, and inspirations, the candid accounts in Dancing Ledge provide intimate and incredibly vivid glimpses into this iconoclastic filmmaker's life and times.
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Derek Jarman's stunning account of his life and art.Publishers WeeklyOriginally published a decade ago in England under the title Queerlife, this brutally candid memoir by British artist and filmmaker Jarman offers a glimpse into the making of such controversial films as Sebastiane , The Tempest and Caravaggio. Writing in a diary format, Jarman jumps back and forth in time, discussing his acceptance of his homosexuality at age 16 (he was born in 1942) and his strong belief that a fully realized sexuality must drive art and politics. Interwoven with accounts of the financial and emotional hardships of a life devoted to filmmaking are explicit descriptions of sexual explorations conducted around the globe. Diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1986 (this was dealt with more fully in an earlier memoir, At Your Own Risk ), Jarman advocates sexual caution but resists renouncing his past and continues to preserve gay history through his art. Photos not seen by PW. (July)
\ Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly\ Originally published a decade ago in England under the title Queerlife, this brutally candid memoir by British artist and filmmaker Jarman offers a glimpse into the making of such controversial films as Sebastiane , The Tempest and Caravaggio. Writing in a diary format, Jarman jumps back and forth in time, discussing his acceptance of his homosexuality at age 16 (he was born in 1942) and his strong belief that a fully realized sexuality must drive art and politics. Interwoven with accounts of the financial and emotional hardships of a life devoted to filmmaking are explicit descriptions of sexual explorations conducted around the globe. Diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1986 (this was dealt with more fully in an earlier memoir, At Your Own Risk ), Jarman advocates sexual caution but resists renouncing his past and continues to preserve gay history through his art. Photos not seen by PW. (July)\ \ \ \ \ Library JournalJarman is a painter, theater designer, and one of Britain's most renowned alternative filmmakers. This autobiography, which covers his life to age 40, was originally privately printed in 1984. Rather than straight narrative, it is written in a journal style that gives it an arresting immediacy. Jarman also offers a mini-history of gay life in London from the swinging Sixties to the grey Eighties. His artistic life gets more than equal space, tracing his development from artist to filmmaker. The creation of the three movies he made during this period ( Sebastiane, Jubilee , and The Tempest ) as well as the preproduction work for Caravaggio , dominates the book. Jarman writes in lucid, accessible, and evocative prose. His highly articulate musings on contemporary art and cinema (neither of which has his approval) are both thought-provoking and interesting. Recommended for film or art collections, and a definite asset to any collection on gay culture.-- Marianne Cawley Kingwood Branch Lib . , Kingwood, Tex.\ \
