Bøker av Giles Watson

Since the age of seventeen, Giles Watson has been fascinated by the work of the fourteenth century Welsh poet, Dafydd ap Gwilym, and has previously published modern English paraphrases of his work. At the end of an eighteen year stay in the United Kingdom, he took a trip from his home in rural Oxfordshire to Dafydd's burial place at Ystrad Fflur in Ceredigion. The title poem in this collection is the result of his vigil at the yew tree that marks the poet's grave: a celebration of the life, loves and dazzling imagination of Dafydd ap Gwilym. Mischievously combining mediaeval and modern styles and idioms, 'Wild Words' and its four companion poems imagine themselves back into the mind of the poet as he considers his love and longing for the natural world, the constraints placed upon him by patrons, and the agonies and dilemmas of being in love with a woman with an abusive husband.

Saints, Birds and Devils takes readers on a poetic tour of mediaeval European history, with a focus on the relationships between birds and human beings. The poems respond to a wide range of sources from the Middle Ages, from Icelandic romances and Norse legends, to stories from the lives of saints, monarchs and scholars. The collection concludes with a series of paraphrases of mediaeval poems in modern English. Illustrated by the author with mediaeval bestiary-style paintings, this is a collection designed to delight.

The shadow of Fascism spreads across Italy as Mimma, a young journalist from Turin, takes refuge at her Uncle Lorenzo's nightclub in Soho, London. As another World War becomes inevitable, Mimma forges an unassailable friendship with Sarah, an aspiring jazz singer, while her family are increasingly embroiled in resistance against Mussolini. The coming conflict brings out the best and worst in people as Mimma's brother is captured, Londoners prepare for Hitler's Blitz, and fears of betrayal reach fever pitch. Even refugees and firm opponents of the dictators are classified as "Enemy Aliens". Mimma and Sarah are caught in the turmoil as Soho is torn apart by arrests and internments. England and Italy are facing their darkest hours, and Mimma is in danger of losing everything. Everything - that is, except the one friend she can trust. Based on the new musical by Ron Siemiginowski and Giles Watson, 'Mimma' is a novel that bridges continents and cultures.

The Butcher's Wife has an extraordinary secret: amongst the slaughtered animals which are hung each day in the cellar of her house, there are some which still have souls imprisoned inside their carcasses. Deprived of her freedom and identity by an abusive husband, she must draw upon her own resources in her struggle to set the dead things free, and seek her own source of tenderness in the midst of hideous violence. Front cover picture by Buffarches. Genre: horror/magical realism. Contains scenes of strong violence and coarse language.