First there was a magazine article about Derek Jarmen's garden in Dungeness, UK published while he was alive. I wasn't aware of who he was except that I'd seen one beautiful music video directed by him in the film "ARIA".

Later someone told me of Derek Jarmen's emergence in the punk scene of 1970's London with his film "JUBILEE". And how at the time Derek lived in a big brick warehouse in the then abandoned (now gentrified) Southbank of the City near Tower Bridge, with a Victorian glass greenhouse for a bedroom set in the middle of the large loft space.

I remembered the article and wanted to see his garden. I remembered that soon after Derek Jarmen discovered he had HIV he bought the small cottage which is the subject of this book.

Seeing the garden was very revealing of Derek's mindset. To pronounce the name Dungeness correctly you must say the word "dungeon-ess". The few cottages there were built especially for those who were brought to this desolate area to work at the Dungeness Nuclear Power Plant. The Plant dominates the view because of the comparative height and size, and is obviously the most important "plant" in the garden. When you visit Derek's garden you will also be struck by how loud the humm of the nuclear plant is even though it is set a mile or so away, and the humm is constant -- it does not stop. The ground is covered with big 1- 2" diameter peebles. Nothing soft, nothing comfortable and with that constant humming that never stops.

The cottage itsself is a simple wooden structure that is stained black with windows painted a bright "Caution" yellow. Most buildings in Britain are made of brick or stone because of all the rain; wooden houses are extrememly rare and stand out as seeming impermanent and impractical because they do so easily mildew in that wet seaside climate.

This is a wonderful book about gardening and beauty, about set design and sculpture, and about the cyle of life.

Beautiful photography and memorable prose (from Derek Jarman) make this far more than a coffee table book. The garden itself is superb. Having visited the garden in Dungeness I can confirm that it is as splendid as the book suggests. I understand that Derek wanted to be buried in a glass-topped coffin in the garden. I can understand his attachment.

Derek Jarman was many things - artist, writer, poet, filmmaker, gardener, political activist, etc. and you will feel like you knew him well after reading this excellent biography by Tony Peake, who was a friend and collaborator to Jarman. Beginning with Jarman's childhood, it was easy to see that he was highly sensitive to beauty and the arts - he was fascinated with flowers and nature which would lead to his development of his famous garden at Dungeness. Also, he was greatly affected by the art and entertainment medium around him - when his parents took him to the cinema for the first time, it was to see "The Wizard of Oz" and Jarman was so wrapped up in the film that he closed out everything else around him and thought the events occuring in front of him were real and at one point, to the embarrassment of his parents, ran screaming up the aisles in terror. Jarman's early adult years found him leading a very bohemian existence, experimenting with art and film and exploring his homosexuality. He was especially drawn to filmmaking and would eventually direct such avant garde features as "Sebastiane" and "The Last of England". When he was diagnosed with AIDS in the mid 80's, he became more and more involved in activism for AIDS reasearch and the basic rights of gays and lesbians. Jarman had many critics, both to his work and his activism, but he never buckled to them and spoke out any time he felt an injustice was being served. Peake's biography is daunting (533 pages) but it is not heavy handed and you almost feel that you are sitting with someone who knew Jarman well, listening to his stories about him. The last chapters deal with Jarman's devastating battle with AIDS, which left him crippled and blind, and if the last poem in the book (taken from Jarman's film "Blue") does not leave you teary eyed, nothing will.

This book is very much about the garden Derek Jarman cultivated around his cottage in Dungeness, a very inhospitable part of the English coast near a nuclear power station, and how it bloomed and thrived under his care. What I loved about this book was the attention and awareness he brought to the process. I have no outstanding passion for gardening myself, and have long forgotten the names of things, but this book made me remember a time when I was curious and interested, and hadn't succumbed to the consensual trance. For a short time it made me pay attention again. Also, maybe, I was drawing my own metaphors of how we can find joy and beauty in the dark places. Derek Jarman could be very controversial and he pushed the boundaries with his art and film. This book gives an insight into the contemplative side of his nature, a view to his heart. I've been told that the garden has been preserved since his death and continues to be maintained.

Published journals by their very nature can be dull and opaque. If you're not familiar with the author's creative work and life it's easy to get lost in a forest of names and references which leaves you feeling bored and alienated. For this reason, journals generally dissaude you from reading them cover to cover though they may be quite illuminating when dipped into. That's not the case with this, the final volume of Jarman's journals. The way he writes is so direct and frank that it is utterly compelling. I didn't want to skip any of it. Jarman's uncompromising approach to art and life must have alienated a lot of people (on the margins as well as in the mainstream). Good! We need to be shaken up. Jarman shows his courage here but also his vulnerability. The journals are never mawkish or sentimental, but they left me greatly moved. Jarman continued to work on films, books and paintings while dealing with the daily burden of HIV-related illness and this book documents that process. It's also very much about the people who surrounded him and the things he liked to do, particularly in relation to his cottage and the unique and celebrated garden at Dungeness. Vale, Derek. I wish I could have told you how much I admire you.