FANTAST IN FOCUS: GAVIN-PRETOR PINNEY Gavin Pretor-Pinney’s Cloud Appreciation Society champions ephemerality and praises clouds as “nature’s poetry”. A sort of modern Henry David Thoreau, Pinney is the author of several bestsellers, including The Cloudspotter’s Guide, The Cloud Collector’s Handbook, and The Wavewatcher’s Companion. The Custodian: The Cloud Appreciation society offers great guidance on escaping the humdrum of society—so…
WHAT TO EXPECT: TALE OF TALES Matteo Garrone, the same director who made the graphic and telling Gomorrah crime film in 2008, is now hard at work on Tale of Tales, a fantasy film based on Giambattista Basile’s Pentamerone. Production is taking place in various locations around Italy, and the cast reportedly includes A-listers John…
FANTAST IN FOCUS: AL CUMMINS Eloquent, funny, and deeply wizard-like, Al Cummins is a historian of early modern magic and culture. Al’s research focuses on seventeenth-century English cultural approaches to the passions—thus his work falls within a relatively new academic field known as “emotion history”. When he’s not poring over dusty manuscripts, this University of Bristol doctor-elect moonlights…
Anthony Lewis is the multitalented adventurer extraordinaire behind The Lost Valley of London, a website which highlights London’s strange and fascinating history. He’s also an Exhibitions Assistant and tour guide with Shakespeare’s Globe and a voice over artist with over four years of experience. Recently I caught up with Anthony to talk about the Lost Valley…
The Age of the Baroque–one of the most creative periods in world history–began around 1600 and lasted until the mid 18th century. It was a passionate, transitional era which gave rise to mavericks like Vivaldi, Bach, Spinoza, and Descartes. Andrea Zuvich, also known as the 17th-century lady, is a historian, novelist, and former thespian who specialises…
I had a chat with Paul Green, a playright, poet, and bluesman. A former radio broadcaster, Paul has worked with the BBC and performed at venues such as Treadwell’s Bookshop, the Southbank Centre, and the Oxford Poetry Festival. Paul was also a lecturer in media at the Royal College for the Blind from 1995-2011. The…
FANTAST IN FOCUS: HAWK ALFREDSON Hawk Alfredson’s paintings are liminal; neither here nor there but stuck somewhere in that murky area between subconscious and conscious life. These critically acclaimed works, such as Alfredson’s Icon of an Unknown Religion and Dream Ambassador XXX, have a smudginess about them, which–when contrasted with their ghostly auras– makes the viewer…
I caught up with Francesco Dimitri, the author of several critically-acclaimed fantasy works including L’eta sottile, Pan, and Alice nel paese della vaporità. This year his 2007 novel La Ragazza dei miei Sogni was optioned for a film by Draka, a Rome-based production company. Francesco spoke to me about his experiences documenting the Raelian…
Our inaugural Fantast in Focus, Spanish painter Hernan Valdovinos uses his brush to paint tales of adventure and intrigue. His splendorous icons exude the feel of Orientalism; some conjure up sensations of a golden age Ruritania, while others take their aesthetic cues from Slavic mythology and The Arabian Nights. Educated in Chile, Spain, and Italy, Valdovinos…