Derek Jarman

by Tony Peake

Taken decade by decade, Derek Jarman's life is a virtual encapsulation of the social and cultural history of the latter half of the twentieth century, from post-war austerity through the liberated sixties and the perplexing seventies to the eighties of Aids and Thatcherism.

Always influential in artistic and film-making terms, and within the gay community, Jarman had attained before his death a figurehead status that is now very generally recognised, and can only increase with time. His extraordinary garden in Dungeness in Kent has become a major tourist attraction and his films still compel massive critical attention. Tony Peake was Derek Jarman's literary agent, and knew him well. His authorised biography is based on first-hand interviews and primary research and does immense justice to a brilliant - and singular - subject.

Genres: Biography, Queer, Film, Nonfiction, Art, History

618 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 18, 1999

Reviews

[John Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

A big volume, hard to handle. The author might say the same in relation to his subject? It is meticulously researched . At times a dense and wearying read, and then much less so. Jarman is such a big character, a mass of contradictions which made him who he was, intensely human. I find I prefer to read Jarman on Jarman but a biography is needed, if only to offer commentary on DJ's writings.

Excellent photographs. Peake's charting of Derek Jarman’s last months is harrowing, his stoicism incredible and very moving, as are his achievements even on the point of death.

Jarman, the quintessential English gentleman one minute and 'moral' anarchist the next, is always good for a quote. This one is taken from one of his poems: ‘ A boy’s arse is the hole to heaven.’

[Harry McDonald · Rating 4 out of 5]

A huge book, in every sense. It is massively researched, impeccably noted and sourced, but it can't capture the man. Jarman remains too utterly uncompromising to be rendered in any words but his own.

[Madeline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shall I start with my nits? Let me pick them (and may I say that I just realized how gross that expression is, ugh). First of all, if you were so inclined (and maybe Jarman would approve), you could get pretty drunk if you were a fast reader and you took a shot every time this book mentioned Warhol. I know Warhol is the elephant in the room of modern art, but I'm not 100% sure that this comparison was necessary. Second, except for a few people - Keith Collins, Jarman's parents - this biography isn't great at conveying relationships. Like, if you want a thorough analysis of friendships . . . I wouldn't go here. IDK, I guess that's fine? It's called Derek Jarman not Derek Jarman and His Friends, and How They Felt About Him, etc, and frankly it's kind of a big book! So in the interests of not drowning readers in words . . . an understandable choice. (And there's a weird dearth of letters! Especially weird because Peak mentions Jarman keeping all the letters he got or copying those he sent, after a certain point in his life. Maybe as a side-effect of the late twentieth century they were destroyed? Maybe there's an estate-privacy thing? Seems unlikely, since there are all those published journals with cruising tips, but whatever. Not a lawyer!) Also, if you are hoping for behind the scenes gossip - like, if you want to learn anything about Sean Bean? - this is not the place to go for that.

BUT, what this biography is really good at is the whole "this is Derek Jarman, and who he was, and what he did, and why" thing. And it's admirably ready to point out problems with his attitude or decisions or art (I still love Caravaggio, Tony Peake! I don't think it's stale! But Wittgenstein is definitely the funniest one, you're right.), something biographers often don't venture to do - they'll say "oh, this was unsuccessful because the critics disliked x, y, z, but IN HINDSIGHT HOW BRILLIANT IS IT? SO BRILLIANT" and then you, the reader, are in a weird place because you want to point out that William Wellman's movies are slow and criminally dull and it doesn't matter if Louise Brooks is cross-dressing or not, really, his movies aren't any fun to watch!

Sorry, I am projecting. But, anyway, despite Peake's readiness to examine Jarman from many angles, to point out inconsistencies in his approach to other people (like, particularly to people who might fund him), this isn't a life-and-works biography. Peake's not a film critic, or an art critic, so when he's like "well, Derek, really?" it's mostly on conceptual or psychological, as stupid as that sounds - actually, that's a very good way to go about the whole biographical project. But even if he's critical, he's never moralizing, which is good. I also like the way he highlights undercurrents of traditionalism in Jarman's work, life, and thought. Particularly Jarman's interest in and embodiment of the British Arcadian/pastoral tradition.

Jarman's personal charm is a bit difficult to convey through biography, but if you listen to interviews with him (or maybe watch the Derek documentary?) it's palpable. He has a warm, engaging, lively presence. Some of his films are angry, or sad, or just weird, but then why not? Someone has to make movies (paintings? books?) that are those things, and he was 100% the Powell and Pressburger of the 80s and 90s - his visual imagination was so powerful and innovative, and he really cared about ~*BRITAIN*~.

Anyway, recommended if you want to know about Jarman-the-person.

[Robert Vaughan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jarman is one of my heroes. I think he is one of the most overlooked experimental movie makers of the 20th century. And it turns out he was also an incredible writer, poet, and journalist. His notes, especially as AIDS took more and more of his beautiful life, is captivating.

[Christopher Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

Purely magnificent ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[David White · Rating 5 out of 5]

A deeply satisfying read if you're a fan of Jarman and his work. He tells his own story better - or at least more enjoyably - in his autobiographical works Dancing Ledge, Modern Nature, and Smiling In Slow Motion. But Tony Peake's biography is revealing in some refreshing ways. He shows that Jarman's account of himself wasn't always true, or complete. Having read this book I now view Jarman's own journals as less confessional that I did before, and more as a public edit of his private world.

This book also extends Jarman's own account of his suffering with AIDS and has more to say than Jarman did about his closest relationships, especially with Keith Collins. Tony Peake was Jarman's literary agent and had authorised access to papers and the people who knew him. This is a conventionally written, broadly chronological survey of his life and work. It's a highly sympathetic appraisal of its subject, but it's also a probing, and at times a critical assessment as well.

If you're new to Jarman then don't start with this book. Watch his films and read his own books. Visit Prospect Cottage if you have the chance. If you find these things as compelling as I did, then come back to this book. It's a rewarding read, and a substantial and fitting biography for a great artist and campaigner.

[Joey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved having the chance, thanks to the Criterion Channel's thorough retrospective, to dive into this man's extraordinary body of work, framed perfectly by this well-researched and clearly executed biography.

[Andrew H · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written, well-researched, well-considered biography about Jarman.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is almost as amazing as the subject and it has changed my life, my art, my mind. It will influence me for the rest of my life. A masterwork about a genius.

[Venneh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve seen bits and pieces of Jarman’s work, but up until now I hadn’t had an idea of the arc of his life. This excellent biography goes deep into who Jarman was and how he lived his brief life, and is another example of what AIDS took from us. Like that we have a good biography from Peake here.

[Harry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what it was that led me to picking up Modern Nature during the pandemic, but it utterly changed my brain.

This is a fine biography of Jarman, both capable of the usual attention to his work and life, whilst also getting to the root of his more embellished tales.

[Zak · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tony Peake, man, oh man, you really let Derek down with this dull, monotonous, and extremely lacking biography of a supposed friend.