The Anathemata: Fragments of an Attempted Writing

1952

Brasch PR6019 O53 A8

London: Faber and Faber

Welsh poet David Jones defines anathemata as things ‘made over to the gods,’ things devoted, donated, and dedicated. He records fragments and remains of cultural traditions, from the rituals of Mass to Rugby Union rules. His materials come from British and European myth, literature, history, and legend, and he acknowledges the composite tradition of Britain, with its Celtic, Imperial Roman, Saxon, and Christian roots. The Anathemata is a complex, allusive poem exploring cultural artefacts and themes of empire and resistance.