Mr Pye TV series on DVD
Mervyn Peake, Centenary Year, 2011
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01/16/2012 06:45 PM
The Swiss edition of Captain Slaughterboard
From the influential French literature review, Le Telegramme, high praise for the Swiss edition of Captain SlaughterboardÀ tous les petits (et nombreux!) amateurs d'aventures de pirates, les éditions La Joie de Lire offre l'occasion de découvrir l'oeuvre de l'Anglais Mervyn Peake (1911-1968): «Capitaine Massacrabord». Un récit fantaisiste qui fait défiler une galerie de personnages plus ou moins terrifiants mais toujours farfelus, fidèle aux contes absurdes qu'affectionnait l'illustrateur. C'est aussi l'histoire d'une rencontre avec l'inconnu, d'un exemple d'ouverture à l'autre, de partage et finalement, sous un voile d'étrange, une belle histoire d'amour.
Mervyn Peake, éditions La Joie de Lire. Dès 6 ans. 56 pages. 17 €.
* Catherine Richard
01/16/2012 06:42 PM
The British Library, two new publications
The British Library has just published two extremely attractive books, in December 2011 and January 2012.The first, entitled, Love Letters: 2000 Years of Romance, invites the reader into an intimate realm, reminding us of the importance of the written word. From pre-Roman times to the 1970's, numerous examples make for fascinating reading. The letter included in the collection written by my father to my mother in the early 1940's is accompanied by a beautiful frieze at the bottom of the last page, which depicts various horses. On the front cover of the book is his angelic little archer who has just released an arrow from its bow. This arrives at the very epicentre of the aim a heart-shaped target, shown beneath the text on the back cover of this lovely book.
In the forward to the second book, a beautifully-produced edition of Grimm's Household Tales, the writer Sarah Waters tells of how she first came across this famous collection of short stories in 1977. 'I knew them through sanitised re-tellings', she writes, 'but this edition (with my father's illustrations) was something altogether different. For me the Grimms' tales will always be at their best when accompanied by the pictures of Mervyn Peake. It's wonderful to see them brought together again in this glorious edition'. The front cover itself, attracting the viewer by the ravishing beauty of Snow White, voluminous hair spreading out across her shoulders, and her tiny, white, and delicate hand resting on the small branch of a tree, is enough to turn both heads and the pages of this alluring book.
01/10/2012 02:08 PM
Three nominations for BBC Awards
In being nominated for not one, two, but three categories in the BBC's first ever annual Audio awards, Brian Sibley's brilliant adaptation The History of Titus Groan, has surely been recognised. I mean, for a start how does one take four books and make them into a unforgettable series? it is certainly beyond me. If Brian wins in even one of the three to be announced on 29th January then all Mervyn Peake fans should shout aloud from the rooftops. The CD's are available online, via Amazon or direct from the BBC itself. Well done Brian.More details of the nominations on Brian's own blog.
01/10/2012 02:39 PM
Complete Nonsense, in The Scotsman
Over Christmas, Mervyn Peake's Complete Nonsense was chosen as a 2011 Writer's Choice in The Scotsman by the novelist A L Kennedy.
Fish or Fowl
Fish or fowl, it's all the same
To me, all's one - and two
And three
For I am now
Proclaimed and sworn
The sorriest cow
Of Capricorn
My scales are pink
My eyes are black
My feathers flutter
Down my back -
The firelight fails
To comfort me
All's one - all's two
And sometimes
Three
(After 1957)
Complete Nonsense is available from Amazon.
Fish or FowlFish or fowl, it's all the same
To me, all's one - and two
And three
For I am now
Proclaimed and sworn
The sorriest cow
Of Capricorn
My scales are pink
My eyes are black
My feathers flutter
Down my back -
The firelight fails
To comfort me
All's one - all's two
And sometimes
Three
(After 1957)
Complete Nonsense is available from Amazon.
01/03/2012 04:35 PM
The History of Titus Groan
From the TV and radio blog in The Guardian of 30th December 2011
"... this six-hour adaptation of Mervyn Peake's book matched and even embellished the brilliant, strange original. Luke Treadaway was just right as Titus; Peter Ringrose's ingenious sound production brought Peake's dazzling vision to life on radio."
"... this six-hour adaptation of Mervyn Peake's book matched and even embellished the brilliant, strange original. Luke Treadaway was just right as Titus; Peter Ringrose's ingenious sound production brought Peake's dazzling vision to life on radio."
Celebrating the Creativity of People with Parkinson's
The Mervyn Peake Awards are a celebration of the talents of people with Parkinson's. Parkinson’s UK aims to encourage creativity in memory of the late Mervyn Peake. 2011 marks the centenary of his birth and the tenth anniversary of the awards.
This is a fantastic opportunity for anyone with Parkinson's, of any ability, to share their creative passion. There are 4 prize categories including art, poetry, photograph and digital art. In addition, this year, all entries will be shortlisted for an online public vote to feature in the Parkinson's UK 2012 calendar. For more information please visit www.parkinsons.org.uk/mervynpeake or call 020 7963 9319
Peake Studies
Anyone interested in knowing more about Mervyn Peake should consider subscribing to Peake Studies, a bi-annual publication edited and published by Peter Winnington, a world authority on the subject. Every issue includes reviews, articles, and very frequently previously unseen drawings and other work by Mervyn Peake. Above are examples of the publication.
Read more
Mervyn Peake: the Man and His Art
Compiled by Sebastian Peake & Alison Eldred. Edited by G. Peter Winnington
Announcing a major new volume on the acclaimed writer and artist is available now.
Read more
Sixty years on, the world of Titus Groan and his castle remains as contemporary now as when first published in 1946.
It is generally accepted that the Gormenghast trilogy as a whole offers one of the most original and sustained flights of imaginative writing of the 20th century and Mervyn Peake is best remembered for this timeless and highly influential work. Now translated into over thirty languages, to be joined shortly by Mandarin.
Less well known however, is his prolific output as a painter and writer of children’s books, nonsense verse, and work as a war artist, poet, and illustrator. Such classic texts as Treasure Island, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, The Ancient Mariner, Swiss Family Robinson, The Hunting of the Snark, Bleak House and others were illustrated, resulting in idiosyncratic interpretations immediately recognisable as his own.
Texts were read closely before any drawings were committed to paper, though the description of the characters in the books, the location and atmosphere being brought to life, acted as the sole guide for his eagle eye, with the published drawings often remaining imprinted for ever on the reader’s visual mind.
This completely new and comprehensive website aims to display as many of the above talents as possible while the motivating rationale behind the enlargement of the site was the dedication to presenting work of the whole artist, rather than the parts. He was after all, as some have suggested, the incarnation of Renaissance man.
All material © The Mervyn Peake Estate. For more information email: SebastianPeake@aol.com or fax: +44 (0)20 7733 5634
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