Nine Nights Awake - Rimell, Bruce

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Résumé :
A nameless young man finds himself wandering half-naked through the frozen wintry Bristol night, when he falls - or is he pushed...? - into the river and is washed out to sea. Arriving lost and exhausted upon a strange island enmisted, he comes to a fortress which holds a lithe, enchanted-but-broken, eternal youth in chains, who tries to kill him. It is only through sharing stories of his life that he is able to avert the youth's wrath at being disturbed, easing his traumatised heart by offering him something no other visitor to this dark place has ever given him: presence, and care. This unearthly mythical narrative becomes the poetic frame story by which Bruce, the nameless wanderer, unfolds his life story in fractured, allegorical and dreamlike ways. We move from migraines and his lived experience as a gay/queer person with ADHD, into visionary experiences that changed the course of his life, the ecstasies of true love, and expressions of his personal philosophies and spiritualities, as well as a curious catalogue of artworks he has created over the years as an artist. As this most unusual of autobiographies unfolds, we move deeper into Bruce's queer/neurodiverse, homoerotic/hyperactive inner world, gliding from one theme to another in a genre-baffling, lilting symphony of images, ultimately uncovering his one true mirror soul with all its fragilities, strengths and wonders. He must try to save his own life as well as the youth's, so they can escape this otherworldly prison together. At once melodious and magic, joyous and tragic, 'Nine Nights Awake' is not for the faint of heart: simultaneously riddlingly absurd, sexually graphic and brutally honest, its mythical wildness might well be the oddest and most eccentric memoir you are ever likely to read!...

Biographie:
Bruce Rimell is a British artist, poet and independent researcher. Related works include 'Ta Sba Balamil Ta Ch'ulel', a magical poetic travelogue through the Maya cultural landscapes of Southern Mexico, 'White Book', a visionary and mystical poetic text, and 'The Fernal Songs', a wildly imaginative cycle of creative mythology. You can discover his art, and more about his poetry at the website www.biroz.net...

Sommaire:
Bruce Rimell is an internationally-exhibited visual artist and outsider poet from Leeds-Bradford in the UK. Previous publications include 'Echoes For Aphrodite', shortlisted for the 2024 Poetry Book Awards, and a chapbook 'Deo Mithrae' available through The Braag publishing. Forthcoming works include 'Vallum Aelium', a poetic travelogue to Hadrian's Wall, and 'Queeritudes', a small-scale series of narrative poems exploring the beauty of gay sexualities. You can discover his art and poetry at www.biroz.net, or search 'Bruce Rimell Xibalba Books'...