Dear Gawain supporter,
Earlier this week I sent an update about my next book with Unbound, a translation of the magnificent Fourteenth Century poem, the Alliterative Morte Arthure. I am so delighted to tell you that the book has now reached its funding target and will go ahead!!!
For those of you who have already pledged, I thank you deeply for having the faith in my work to back its successor. For those yet to pledge, there's still time! Please read on...
If you think you know the King Arthur story, well it's time to think again. The Alliterative Morte Arthure - King Arthur's Death - tells the story from a completely different angle. This is a poem written in Middle English - maybe fifty or more years earlier than the famous Malory version - during the reign(s) of either Edward III or Richard II.
It tells the story not so much as a romantic retrospective but as a tale very much in the present. In so doing, it has an astonishing immediacy. More, the story it tells of King Arthur is a salutory tale not just for mediaeval contemporary society, but also one - with harsh lessons - for today.
Right now, I am finessing the alliteration of the poem, completing the last few linocut illustrations and putting together the introduction and notes - features which were particularly well received in Sir Gawain. In the coming weeks, I will submit the manuscript to Unbound and the production process begins!
Yet to pledge? It will be worth every penny! - pledge here
If you've yet to support this new telling of this magnificent poem, now is the time to do so. Every supporter receives a de luxe Collector's First Edition, different to those sold in the shops. It will include:
- Your name (or that of a friend) printed in the back - this name will also appear in every other edition too, recognising your contribution to the success of the book
- Special Dust Jacket - with Gawain, for example, the jacket included spot-varnish treatment which, if you look carefully, feature images from the inside of the book (the trade edition is not spot-varnished)
- Special boards - with Gawain, if you remove the dust jacket, you will see Gawain's five pointed star (not featured in the trade edition)
- Special end-papers - with Gawain, these were printed in a rusticated green finish (unlike the plain papers in the trade edition)
- Special features in silk - a bound in bookmark and silk head- and tail-bands
Depending on your pledge level, there is still chance to secure on of the special pledge rewards I have produced and made available specially for King Arthur. There are lots to choose from, including original artwork hand-pressed, signed and editioned by me.
King Arthur's Death will be the perfect companion to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. Though the book is funded, you can still be part of it as a named patron. In the words of mediaeval kings as they marched forwards, "Banners Advance!"
Support the book by following this link and choosing your pledge level: please click here
Thank you once again for supporting my work,
Michael Smith
Author, Translator, Printmaker
PS, Due to the way the email update system works, existing pledgers will also receive this update. I do apologise for appearing to bombard you with emails - having said that, it gives me the opportunity once again for thanking you profusely for all your support of my work along the way.