Derek Jarman, At Your Own Risk

John Mepham (Kingston University)
Download PDF Add to Bookshelf Report an Error

Derek Jarman wrote a series of autobiographical texts, scripts and journals, in which he again and again revisited his past and continually reinvented the forms of self-writing. The sequence includes

Dancing Ledge

(1984),

The Last of England

(1987) (republished as

Kicking the Pricks

(1996)),

Modern Nature

(1991),

At Your Own Risk

(1992),

Smiling in Slow Motion

(2000),

Blue

(1993), and

Chroma

(1994).

At Your Own Risk: A Saint's Testament (1992) continues Jarman's series of collage autobiographies. Although there is a rough chronological shape to the book, the emphasis is more on presenting and consolidating a particular identity than on telling a coherent tale. The sub-title refers to the fact that Jarman was, in a cod ceremony on the Ness, awarded a Sainthood; the title of “St Derek of

706 words

Citation: Mepham, John. "At Your Own Risk". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 21 March 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=6479, accessed 19 March 2024.]

6479 At Your Own Risk 3 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

Save this article

If you need to create a new bookshelf to save this article in, please make sure that you are logged in, then go to your 'Account' here

Leave Feedback

The Literary Encyclopedia is a living community of scholars. We welcome comments which will help us improve.