Imagining Alexandria

Description

A gift book of poems from author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Berni res, beautifully illustrated with line drawings Poetry was Louis de Berni res' first literary love and Imagining Alexandria is his debut poetry collection. Here the author of the much-loved Captain Corelli's Mandolin returns us to the vivid Mediterranean landscape of his fiction. De Berni res was introduced to Greek poetry while in Corfu in 1983, and since then he has always travelled with a book of Cavafy's poetry in his pocket. Not surprisingly, his own poems about the distant past, the erotic and the philosophical owe much to the influence of the great Alexandrian poet. Beautifully illustrated with line drawings by Donald Sammut, this is a collection rich in sensuality, nostalgia, and music.

Louis de Berni res is the bestselling author of Captain Corelli's Mandolin, which won the Commonwealth Writers' Prize Best Book in 1995. His most recent books are So Much Life Left Over, The Dust That Falls From Dreams and The Autumn of the Ace, the short story collection Labels, the children's book Station Jim and the poetry collection The Cat in the Treble Clef.

Direct, evocative, erotic and tinged with sadness. What more should poetry be? * Telegraph * De Bernieres captures with quiet assurance that Cavafy music of resigned, sensual sadness as lovers depart, gods retreat and dynasties collapse -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent * Delightful -- Suzi Feay * Independent on Sunday * Love dominates ... we are told the truth about love - even when it is awkward or lacking ... the rum enthusiasm fuelling this collection endears it to the reader -- Kate Kellaway * Guardian * Today the culture of Greece may be facing a new crisis, but many will welcome de Bernieres's revisiting of the "miracle period" -- Margaret Reynold * The Times *