Dear supporter,
I returned from a recent holiday exploring the fortified churches of Transylvania to receive a delightful and unexpected letter. It was from the father of one of my university friends - a man whom I have never met but who was inspired, on seeing a copy of my book at his daughter's house to write some lovely words. I won't quote the entire letter, as some of it is personal to me, but it was so heartfelt and genuine that I wanted to share some of the salient points.
Dear Mike,
Just a note to say how very much enjoyed your version of Gawaine (sic) and the Green Knight - not just reading the verse but also your lovely bold linocuts. I was so pleased to see it piled high in the British Library bookshop (where I bought my copy)...
... I think you catch well the flavour of the words and the storytelling, and it was good to be enticed to read the entire poem at a sitting for the first time. I also enjoyed your researches into the possible locations, but I think the linocuts remain most evocative of the tale and protagonists...
... I liked the idea that you were following the 18th Century tradition of subscription publishing but it must be exceptional with all the competition that such a source gets so many volumes into the shops. Heffers, here in Cambridge, had a good stack too...
... Anyway, this was really just to say how pleased I was firstly to unexpectedly see (my daughter's copy) and then drop into the BL and find that I could buy my own. A real treat, so thank you."
I feel truly humbled to receive this but there's something I must also say. It would never have been my pleasure to receive such a letter had it not been for the pledges of each and every one of you who have supported my work with the poems of the mediaeval alliterative revival. I hope my work has given you all equal pleasure.
Help another anonymous poet rise again to sing and speak of long lost days
As you know, I am currently working on King Arthur's Death - a poem second only to Gawain in this great corpus of work which so defined the flowering of English as a formidable literary language in those far off days of the fourteenth century.
Like Gawain, the original poem was written anonymously in difficult times. Like Gawain, I will again be producing hand-crafted linocut prints and illuminated letters (all produced on a 19th Century Albion press) to accompany the work, as well as providing detailed notes and explanatory text.
The book is currently 56% funded so there is some way to go. If you would like to support my new work you can (if you wish) save 15% on any pledge value up to £100 by using the special code AGINCOURT before the end of October. Why Agincourt? Well, to learn more - and to pledge if you wish - please click here
Once again, thank you for supporting my work. I hope you enjoy the mix of literature, history and art - and the pleasure which it has also given others as a result of your support. The power is in the pledge - and what rewards!
Kind regards
Michael Smith
Author, Translator, Printmaker
(above: one of the linocut illustrations from my forthcoming translation of King Arthur's Death)