Our campaign for Jacqueline Saphra‘s new book Veritas is now closed.
Our thanks to all those who have donated.
Veritas
Poems after Artemisia
by Jacqueline Saphra
illustrated with paintings by
Artemisia Gentileschi
signed limited edition of 300
Hercules Editions is pleased to announce the publication of Jacqueline Saphra’s stunning new chapbook, Veritas: Poems after Artemisia, which celebrates the achievement of the greatest woman painter of the late Italian Renaissance.
Artemisia Gentileschi gained both notoriety and fame during her lifetime; she was the victim in a sensational rape trial, and although her attacker was found guilty, she suffered with the public shame of the violation. She struggled to build a reputation and career, eventually becoming a sought-after and successful painter. As one of the few notable woman artists of the day, her story continues to inspire, and in spring 2020 she will be the subject of a major retrospective at the National Gallery in London, nearly 400 years after she was invited to the city by Charles I.
Jacqueline Saphra’s sonnet cycle positions Artemisia as an icon for our times – a woman who fought against injustice and established herself as an independent artist. This new book follows Saphra’s 2017 Hercules Editions publication, A Bargain with the Light, which saw her honour in sonnets another tough heroine, the photojournalist and muse Lee Miller. Since then she has also published with Nine Arches Press All My Mad Mothers, shortlisted for the prestigious T.S. Eliot Award, and Dad, Remember You are Dead – collections which probe how women navigate the present-day world.
Veritas: Poems after Artemisia also includes an introductory essay by Gentileschi expert Jordana Pomeroy, director of the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum in Miami, Florida, and an afterword by the author which talks about Artemisia’s role in the #MeToo generation. Each sonnet is accompanied by a full-colour reproduction of the painting that inspired it.
Jonathan Jones, art critic for The Guardian and author of a recent biography of Gentileschi, says of Jacqueline Saphra's Veritas:
"These verses leave you in no doubt of Artemisia Gentileschi’s biting relevance to our time. Saphra’s acutely sensitive translations of Artemisia's images and colours into the language of poetry reveal, painting by painting, why the artist leaps from her world to ours and why she is, in her blazing truth, our contemporary."
As always, we rely on the generous assistance of our readers, so we hope you will support this new publication. We are offering some exciting incentives to donors, including an opportunity to have your name listed in the book (a regular feature of all our publications; a way of making our readers integral to the project), a chance to receive a signed copy of Rock'n'roll Mamma, Jacqueline Saphra’s rare out-of-print debut pamphlet, and, for our most generous donors, a bespoke sonnet from Jacqueline herself!
Apprentice
£25
For a pledge of £25, your name will be included in the list of donors at the back of the book, and you will receive a copy of the publication postage free.
Included rewards
A copy of the book with your name listed as a donor
Studio
£45
For a pledge of £45, you will receive a signed copy of Jacqueline Saphra’s rare out-of-print debut pamphlet, Rock'n'roll Mamma. In addition, your name will be included in the list of donors at the back of the book, and you will receive both publications postage free.
Included rewards
A copy of the book with your name listed as a donor
A signed copy of Rock'n'roll Mamma
Academy
£200
For a pledge of £200, you can commission Jacqueline Saphra to write a bespoke sonnet, on any topic of your choice! In addition, you will also receive a signed copy of her rare out-of-print debut pamphlet, Rock'n'roll Mamma; your name will be included in the list of donors at the back of the book, and you will receive both publications postage free.
Included rewards
A copy of the book with your name listed as a donor
A signed copy of Rock'n'roll Mamma
A bespoke sonnet written by Jacqueline Saphra
Size: 48pp, W125 x H140mm, full colour throughout. First edition, limited to 300 copies, signed by the author.
ISBN 978-1-9161971-1-4. Published April 2020
Estimated delivery of the book: May 2020. Ships worldwide