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 A Damask of the
Dead
-
- by John Gale
-
- John
Gale’s prose poems are finely-polished decadent gems,
each an exquisitely-cut tragedy pared to its archetypal
essentials. The perfumes of the East suffuse these tales
of poets, lovers and kings who, despite the luxury and
beauty of their surroundings, desire something beyond.
Although the fate of the protagonist is often melancholia
or death, these are in no way moral fables. They contain,
in their impossible fancies, glimpses of eternal truths,
but not the comfort of traditional fairy stories. These
are quests for the unattainable, and such quests can
never bring happiness. . . .
- Lord
Kandra stalks these pages: cursed with immortality . . .
Kuusian, distraught at his lover’s death, knows that he
will never be reunited with his loved one if he dies by
his own hand . . . Salim ibn Asad is a poet whose heart’s
desire may be attained only in death . . . Sensually
poetic and melancholic, there is a profound darkness
beneath the surface glamour of John Gale’s tales.
A
Damask of the Dead is a collection to be relished by those
who admire sophisticated prose and the Gothic Romanticism
of the Decadents.
-
- A
Damask of the Dead is a sewn hardback book of 100
pages.
-
- Limited
to 250 signed copies.
-
- Price
£25/$50 inc. p&p.
-
- Reviews:
- "... the great virtue of dealing
with the eternal themes of love, beauty, and mortality is
that, if you can carry it off, you will have created
something of lasting value. I think Gale has done so, and
is to be congratulated." - David Longhorn,
All Hallows.
-
- "His short pieces are chill, polished gems
of real beauty . . . something of Clark Ashton Smith’s
lush style there— languid messages from the land of
Averoigne, and yet also more than a little of the
nineteenth-century French decadents’ stylishly despairing
prose . . . enjoy his precious messages from a time lost
and yet to be."—John Whitbourn
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- "Gorgeous . . . lovely."—Rosemary
Pardoe
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- "As Machen has observed, literature
consists in the art of telling a wonderful story in a
wonderful manner. Few writers today acknowledge the need
for either element. John Gale is one who has mastered
both. By what-ever means you may, therefore, seek out his
work: you will be glad you have done so."—Mark Valentine
Page update
23rd March 2008
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