I was delighted to receive an email from Unbound this morning telling me that advance copies of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight had arrived in the office. This means that your copies will shortly be with you - something which would not have been possible without your help as a patron of the book, for which I am truly grateful.
This is not the end...
It's amazing to reflect upon this journey, which began over five years ago and has now finally come to fruition. As many of you know, it's been through a number of iterations and, like a painting, one never knows whether the work is ever truly finished.
Mind you, as a friend told me, Picasso once said that a painting which is finished is in fact dead. And that applies to writing; it should always push us to new things, new ways of thinking, new ways of exploring creativity. I see this Gawain as an eye-opener to further exploration - I could have gone on with my work on it but I had to press "go" eventually! But even so...
It is not even the end of the beginning...
One of the outcomes of the book for me has been to dig deeper into the work of the poets of the Alliterative Revival of the fourteenth century and try to see the world as they saw it.
The Gawain-poet is one of many writers at that time who were not only exploring new ways of working with the English language (indeed, four different branches of the language), but were also commentating on their times.
It is in fact Another Green World...
The more I read their words, the more I'm drawn into their world. They explore themes such as humanity, existence, religion, philosophy and fragility. They describe landscapes and vistas, nature and wildlife, rules and codes but then they add a subtle voice, often with darker meanings and insights, which seduce us into a deeper way of thinking.
These poems are not simple and the tales they relate are not "just" stories; they are complex reflections and insights on a life and times now lost to us.
They are brave works, operating in dangerous political environments. Their writers judge things they saw and paint them abstractly. Hence, we must not see them as romances, even if we are being asked to accept them as such. These works act as comentaries, guides and mirrors even now to those in peril on the sea of life.
Continuing the story...
I didn't know when I began this journey just how much I would be drawn into the world of those anonymous souls who wrote so long ago - and in such a rich and inspired style. But the barbs of beauty draw even the indolent from their downy beds...
I am now over a third the way into a new translation of the Alliterative Morte Arthure (King Arthur's Death) with Unbound. When I began work on it, I had little idea of just how deep this poet thought and how much of life he'd seen. He's sailed the seas, he's seen battles, he's observed the harshness of love and the darkness of self-doubt; he's known the love of friends and the grief of loss.
He's seen the dirty soul of man and thrown it as soil right back in our face - and yet dressed it all in Arthur, the greatest of western mythical kings.
I hope you enjoy my translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; it has been a pleasure to share this journey with you. If would like to join me in another journey to the world of the Alliterative Revival with King Arthur, I would love to have you with me as we go again into the dark and dangerous world of the fourteenth century.
It is a world which, as you might know by now, is not so different from our own.
Thank you once again.
Michael Smith
PS - if you would like to support my translation of King Arthur's Death, then, as an existing patron of Gawain, you can save 10% if you use the code Gawain10 at the checkout, then all pledges received by 1st July 2018 will also save 10% on any of the pledge options you choose (up to £100).
PPS - Don't forget, I am appearing at Bradford Literature Festival on 1st July. If you would like to come along, it would be great to see you. Full details are below; to book, please click here
Sir Gawain: Poetry and Prints; Sunday 1st July, 17:45 – 19:00
CHAIR: Daniel Hahn
SPEAKER: Michael Smith