Pyramid

by James Harpur

The pyramids of Egypt and the Americas are powerful reminders of the advanced civilizations that once thrived on these sites. Yet it is often difficult for us to visualize how everyday life was lived in these places long ago, since all that is left today are crumbling ruins. Using acetate overlays and colorfully detailed reconstructions, this book lets you "go inside" a pyramid to unravel many mysteries about these early cultures. Learn how and why pyramids were built and what treasures were buried within them; examine burial chambers and underground passageways, artifacts and ancient rituals; see the evolution from step pyramids to the magnificent complex at Giza; and discover the secrets of the Pharaohs, Aztecs, and ancient Mayans. Includes a map and an A-Z listing of where the major pyramids of the world can be found. 11" x 11". Color illus.

48 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

James Harpur has had four poetry collections published by Anvil Press: A Vision of Comets (1993), The Monk’s Dream (1996), Oracle Bones (2001) and The Dark Age (2007). Anvil have also published his Fortune’s Prisoner, a translation of the poems of Boethius. In addition, he has published a sequence of religious poems called The Gospel of Joseph of Arimathea (Wild Goose, 2008). His prose publications include Love Burning in the Soul (Shambhala, 2005), an introduction to the Christian mystics.

After studying Classics and English at university, he taught English on the island of Crete then worked as a lexicographer. He is now a freelance writer.

James has won a number of prizes for his poetry, including the 1995 British National Poetry Competition. He has received various awards and bursaries, such as from Cork Arts, the Eric Gregory Trust, the Society of Authors, the Arts Council (UK), and the Hawthornden Foundation. His poems have been broadcast on national and local radio in Ireland and the UK and have appeared in various anthologies. These include Staying Alive (Bloodaxe, 2002), Ireland’s Love Poems (Kyle Cathie, 2000), The New Exeter Book of Riddles (Enitharmon, 2002), The Forward Book of Poetry (Faber, 2001), Voices in the Gallery (Tate Publishing 1986).

He has performed his poetry widely at poetry festivals and venues, including the Triskel Arts Centre (Cork), the Voice Box (London), the ICA (London), and the Irish Writers’ Centre (Dublin). He has held poetry residencies at the Munster Literature Centre in Cork and at Exeter Cathedral in the UK.

He is currently poetry editor of the Temenos Academy Review, a publication founded by the poet and William Blake scholar, Kathleen Raine, and of Southword, one of Ireland’s leading literary journals.

He lives in County Cork, Ireland.