Books from Tilda Swinton

Kicking The Pricks

A fascinating journal written after the creation of Derek Jarman’s The Last of England, covering the making of the film itself and the origins of its deeply autobiographical content.In 1986 Derek Jarman started filming The Last of England, one of his most original and innovative films. It is also his most personal work, with the strongest autobiographical content. Shortly after filming began Derek Jarman started work on this book, which contains diary entries, interviews and notes from the script. Jarman writes of his extraordinary childhood and his kleptomaniac father; the process by which he came to terms with his sexuality; his early work as painter and designer; and finally his debut as a film director. Throughout, however, the reader will follow Jarman at his most fervent, as he writes of the corruption of the cinema industry, of the moral and personal consequences of the AIDS virus, and of the evils of Thatcher's Britain.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Tilda Swinton once described Derek Jarman as having a “perennial beginner’s mind”. It’s a description that might easily be applied to her, too. The actor’s fresh-eyed curiosity, anarchic spirit and instinct for collecting conspirators were all forged in the intensely creative collaboration she shared with Jarman.
Books from Tilda Swinton

THE "I" OF THE STORM

We cannot explain why people kill themselves. There are no necessary or sufficient causes for suicide, so rather than explaining suicide (looking for causes), perhaps we can understand suicide, at least in one individual, a phenomenological approach. This book begins by examining the diaries from eight individuals who killed themselves. Using qualitative analyses, supplemented in some cases by quantitative analyses, Lester seeks to uncover the unique thoughts and feelings that led these individuals to take their own lives. Lester has also studied suicide notes, the poems of those who died by suicide (both famous poets and unpublished poets), the letters written by suicides, blogs and twitter feeds, and one tape recording of a young man who killed himself just an hour or so after he recorded the tape. This book will give you insights into the “I” of the storm, the suicidal mind. David Lester has PhD’s from Cambridge University (UK) and Brandeis University (USA). He is a former President of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and a leading scholar on suicide, murder, the fear of death and other topics and thanatology.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
When Tilda dances at the end of The Last of England she moves into the eye of a storm. I can feel the audience flattened against their seats; if someone dropped a sweet wrapper it would take off and swirl round the room; something vast is conjured, which buffers you so remorselessly, even memories of the preceding hour are blown from your mind. As you are hurled into the vortex you expect Mr Turner to loom out of the mists lashed to the mast, paintbrush in hand.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Collected Poems



Tilda Swinton
Actress
Scotland’s pre-eminent poet both of the mountain and of the capital’s pavement. Doubleness is a Scottish art: the passion and the Calvinism, the west and the east, the Highlands and the Lowlands. MacCaig embraces this split with true affection and verve.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Love in a Cold Climate

A sparkling romantic comedy that vividly evokes the lost glamour of aristocratic life in England between the wars.Polly Hampton has long been groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother, the fearsome and ambitious Lady Montdore. But Polly, with her stunning good looks and impeccable connections, is bored by the monotony of her glittering debut season in London. Having just come from India, where her father served as Viceroy, she claims to have hoped that society in a colder climate would be less obsessed with love affairs. The apparently aloof and indifferent Polly has a long-held secret, however, one that leads to the shattering of her mother’s dreams and her own disinheritance. When an elderly duke begins pursuing the disgraced Polly and a callow potential heir curries favor with her parents, nothing goes as expected, but in the end all find happiness in their own unconventional ways. Featuring an introduction by Flora Fraser.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
The dottiness and passions of the English aristocracy pretty much nailed in one.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Gavin Maxwell



Tilda Swinton
Actress
A great life story, written by a friend, of a life lived with legendary vigor, idealistic courage and a heartbreaking undertow.
Books from Tilda Swinton

The Driver's Seat

The Driver’s Seat, Spark’s own favorite among her many novels, was hailed by the New Yorker as “her spiny and treacherous masterpiece.” Driven mad by an office job, Lise flies south on holiday — in search of passionate adventure and sex. In this metaphysical shocker, infinity and eternity attend Lise’s last terrible day in the unnamed southern city that is her final destination.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Completely sick. In all the right ways.
Books from Tilda Swinton

The Complete Essays

Michel de Montaigne was one of the most influential figures of the Renaissance, singlehandedly responsible for popularising the essay as a literary form.In 1572, Montaigne retired to his estates in order to devote himself to leisure, reading and reflection. There he wrote his constantly expanding 'essays', inspired by the ideas he found in books from his library and his own experience. He discusses subjects as diverse as war-horses and cannibals, poetry and politics, sex and religion, love and friendship, ecstasy and experience. Above all, Montaigne studied himself to find his own inner nature and that of humanity. The Essays are among the most idiosyncratic and personal works in all literature. An insight into a wise Renaissance mind, they continue to engage, enlighten and entertain modern readers.Born in 1533, Michel de Montaigne studied law and spent a number of years working as a counsellor before devoting his life to reading, writing and reflection. He died in 1586. Dr M.A. Screech is regarded as the world's greatest authority on Montaigne.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
This book should, in my humble opinion, replace Gideon in hotel bedside tables the world over. An examination of what it means to be alive, an essay for every possible constituent part of the human experience, built upon the endearing and radically joyous motto “What do I know?”
Books from Tilda Swinton

Une vie exemplaire



Tilda Swinton
Actress
A succinct and comprehensive guide for living made up of irreducible bite-size wisdoms, exquisitely illustrated. From “Live the seasons” through “Lose time in chatting” and “Don’t be afraid to get wet,” to the unassailable “Go from time to time to Scotland,” there can be no better pocket of counsel for any of us at any age.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Bento's Sketchbook

Bento's Sketchbook is an exploration of the practice of drawing, as well as a meditation on how we perceive and seek to explore our ever-changing relationship with the world around us.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
A reflection by one great lens-grinding thinker and revolutionary humanist on another: John Berger — our contemporary — writes on Benedict Spinoza, the 17th-century philosopher so influential for the Enlightenment. But he also writes on drawing, on living, on life and on living life now. For those not familiar with one or both, this is a great introduction to the company of two seminal souls.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Unfortunately, It Was Paradise

"These translations of Mahmoud Darwish's marvelous poems reveal the lifelong development of a major world poet. The book is a gift to other poets and lovers of poetry. It's also an important contribution to current and future discourse on culture and politics."—Adrienne Rich, author of Fox: Poems, 1996-2000"At this critical moment in world relations, cultural, creative projects feel more necessary than ever. Celebrate this most comprehensive gathering of Mahmoud Darwish's poetry ever translated into English. Darwish is the premier poetic voice of the Palestinian people, and the collaboration between translators Akash and Forché is a fine mingling of extraordinary talents. The style here is quintessential Darwish—lyrical, imagistic, plaintive, haunting, always passionate, and elegant—and never anything less than free—what he would dream for all his people."—Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Fuel
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Darwish, Palestinian poet of the Resistance, writes like breath. His passion for the essence of homeland is universal as well as painfully particular. A true master, a poet and a heart for the ages.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Ring of Bright Water



Tilda Swinton
Actress
One of the greatest Scottish writers, probably the most affecting prose witness to the unique spirit of the Highland wilderness there has ever been.
Books from Tilda Swinton

The Driver's Seat

The Driver’s Seat, Spark’s own favorite among her many novels, was hailed by the New Yorker as “her spiny and treacherous masterpiece.” Driven mad by an office job, Lise flies south on holiday — in search of passionate adventure and sex. In this metaphysical shocker, infinity and eternity attend Lise’s last terrible day in the unnamed southern city that is her final destination.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Completely sick. In all the right ways.
Books from Tilda Swinton

The Complete Diaries of Adam and Eve

EXTRACTS FROM ADAM'S DIARY (1904) and EVE'S DIARY (1906) are essentially send-ups of the scripture, in which Twain parodied Genesis, the parables of creation and original sin, and Eve's role in the fall of humankind. In EXTRACTS FROM ADAM'S DIARY, published with Fred Strothmann's humorous cartoons of supposedly ancient stone carvings on every left-hand page, Twain playfully established Niagara Falls Park as the setting of the Garden of Eden, "the honeymoon capital of the world." EVE'S DIARY, accompanied by the stunning line drawings of Lester Ralph, was Twain's moving eulogy to his wife, Livy, who died the previous year. The grief-stricken Samuel Clemens, in a letter to his brother-in-law, Charles Langdon, wrote: "I am a man without a country. Wherever Livy was that was my country." Similarly Adam's tribute to Eve at the end of Eve's Diary reads, "Wheresoever she was, there was Eden." Eve's story is tender throughout and focuses on the more humorous aspects of Adam and Eve's relationship and eventual "marriage." Like Adam's story it lacks the darker implications of the other biblical pieces Twain wrote during the last decade of his life.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
This extraordinary book by Mark Twain called The Diaries of Adam and Eve. In there you have this very playful portrait of these two: You have Adam who is incredibly bad-tempered, a curmudgeon kind of stomping around the garden saying, "Oh, it's Thursday. I've got to name all these animals." And she's this complete space cadet who really annoys him. He's very, very bad-tempered with her.
Books from Tilda Swinton

The Many Days

By the time of his death in January 1996, Norman MacCaig was known widely as the grand old man of Scottish poetry, honoured by an OBE and the Queen's Medal for Poetry. This book is a celebration of MacCaig's life - 2010 is the hundredth anniversary of his birth - and it features 100 of his best poems, edited by his son Ewen.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Scotland's preeminent poet of both the mountain and the capital's pavement. Doubleness is a Scottish art: Passion and Calvinism; the west and the east; the highlands and the lowlands. MacCaig embraces this split with true affection and verve.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Collected Poems

Sorley MacLean (Somhairle MacGill-Eain 1911-1996) is generally recognised as the most significant writer in Scottish Gaelic of the twentieth century. Yet his work possesses a relevance extending far beyond the bounds of his nation or his language. His 1943 collection D'in do Eimhir agus D'in Eile(Poems to Eimhir) brought Gaelic poetry abreast of the modern world with breathtaking and notorious effectiveness. The love sequence at its core shows a young man battling with the conflicting claims of love and duty against the background of a continent hurtling unstoppably into all-out war. His political poem An Cuilithionn (The Cuillin) links the tragedy of the Highland Clearances with a tradition of left-wing radicalism which had the French and Bolshevik revolutions as its highpoints. His work was characterised by a mixture of reticence and outspokenness. The love sequence could not be published in its entirety while he was alive, and An Cuilithionn waited half a century before finally appearing in an abridged and shortened form. This definitive edition brings together everything published during the poet's life time and the love sequence in its fullest form, along with extracts from the 1939 manuscript of An Cuilithionn and a generous selection of unpublished poems. MacLean's own English versions are complemented, where necessary, by versions from the editors. A section of notes highlights historical and traditional references, and two maps and a glossary of place-names are provided.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
If these English translations are this beautiful, we can only dream of how exquisite the Gaelic originals might be. [MacLean is] Scotland's preeminent poet of the islands.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Modern Nature

Iconoclastic and controversial filmmaker Derek Jarmans candid journals. One of Englands foremost filmmakers, Derek Jarman (19421994) wrote and directed several feature films, including Sebastiane, Jubilee, Caravaggio, and Blue, as well as numerous short films and music videos. He was a stage designer, artist, writer, gardener, and an outspoken AIDS and queer rights activist in the United Kingdom and the United States. He wrote several books, among them At Your Own Risk and Chroma, forthcoming from the University of Minnesota Press.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Joy and life, and more life and more joy, and making a garden out of stones, and making films, and love.
Books from Tilda Swinton

The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara

Available for the first time in paperback, The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara reflects the poet's growth as an artist from the earliest dazzling, experimental verses that he began writing in the late 1940s to the years before his accidental death at forty, when his poems became increasingly individual and reflective.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Joy and life, and more life and more joy, and street corners, and Coca-Cola, and love.
Books from Tilda Swinton

The Child, The Family And The Outside World

Dr. Winnicott explores the basic relationships of childhood starting with the bond of love between mother and infant, which he views as the key to personality. Speaking directly and informally, he explains everyday issues such as feeding, crying, playing, independence, and shyness as well as serious problems such as stealing and lying.Throughout each discussion, Dr. Winnicott emphasizes the inborn abilities of parents and carefully distinguishes these from the skill that must be learned. Fascinating chapters on the roots of aggression, on the fear of dependence and its unfortunate consequences in adulthood, and on the innate morality of the baby reveal Dr. Winnicott's characteristic wit and insight.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
The book to have by you when becoming a parent. And ever after.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Owning Your Own Shadow

Understand the dark side of your psyche—a Jungian approach to transformative self-acceptance. We all have shadows—the unlit part of our ego that is hidden and never goes away, but merely—and often painfully—turns up in unexpected places. This powerful work from the acclaimed Jungian analyst and bestselling author of Inner Work and We explores our need to “own” our own shadow: learn what it is, how it originates, and how it impacts our daily lives. It is only when we accept and honor the shadow within us that we can channel its energy in a positive way and find balance.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
A tiny, precious book on the balancing wisdom of the psyche. Hooray for that dark stuff!
Books from Tilda Swinton

Great Expectations

One of the finest novels by iconic British author Charles Dickens, this Victorian tale follows the good-natured orphan Pip as he makes his way through life. As a boy, Pip crosses paths with a convict named Magwitch, a man who will heavily influence Pip’s adulthood. Meanwhile, the earnest young man falls for the beautiful Estella, the adoptive daughter of the affluent and eccentric Miss Havisham. Widely considered to be Dickens's last great book, the story is steeped in romance and features the writer's familiar themes of crime, punishment, and societal struggle.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Faces you will never forget, and a lesson to treasure all your life: Be prepared to be surprised, [and] cherish life as it finds you. And love Joe Gargery with all your heart.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Love in a Cold Climate

A sparkling romantic comedy that vividly evokes the lost glamour of aristocratic life in England between the wars.Polly Hampton has long been groomed for the perfect marriage by her mother, the fearsome and ambitious Lady Montdore. But Polly, with her stunning good looks and impeccable connections, is bored by the monotony of her glittering debut season in London. Having just come from India, where her father served as Viceroy, she claims to have hoped that society in a colder climate would be less obsessed with love affairs. The apparently aloof and indifferent Polly has a long-held secret, however, one that leads to the shattering of her mother’s dreams and her own disinheritance. When an elderly duke begins pursuing the disgraced Polly and a callow potential heir curries favor with her parents, nothing goes as expected, but in the end all find happiness in their own unconventional ways. Featuring an introduction by Flora Fraser.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Lady Montdore is one of the greatest creations in English literature; Uncle Matthew, another; Cedric, yet another. It's the dottiness and passions of the English aristocracy pretty much nailed in one.
Books from Tilda Swinton

A Time of Gifts

In 1933, at the age of 18, Patrick Leigh Fermor set out on an extraordinary journey by foot - from the Hook of Holland to Constantinople. A Time of Gifts is the first volume in a trilogy recounting the trip, and takes the reader with him as far as Hungary.It is a book of compelling glimpses - not only of the events which were curdling Europe at that time, but also of its resplendent domes and monasteries, its great rivers, the sun on the Bavarian snow, the storks and frogs, the hospitable burgomasters who welcomed him, and that world's grandeurs and courtesies. His powers of recollection have astonishing sweep and verve, and the scope is majestic.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
For anybody who has ever fantasized about walking across Europe with a backpack. Written by a great writer and a proper hero amongst men.
Books from Tilda Swinton

Auntie Mame

When shy young heir Patrick is orphaned at the age of ten, the only family he has is his wealthy and eccentric aunt, a New York socialite named Mame. Prone to dramatic costumes, flights of fancy and expensive whims, Mame will raise Patrick the only way she knows how - with humour, mishaps, unforgettable friends and lots of love. From progressive schooling and Mame's search for a husband to her short-lived literary career and the puncturing of some of Patrick's romances, Auntie Mame is the most magnificent and hilarious work of love, style, wit and the life of a modern American.
Tilda Swinton
Actress
Mame: Who did you ever dream of being adopted by?