Read this meditative and inspiring diary of Derek Jarmans famous garden at Dungeness which is also a powerful account of his life as an HIV positive man in the 1980s. In 1986 Derek Jarman discovered he was HIV positive and decided to make a garden at his cottage on the barren coast of Dungeness. Facing an uncertain future he nevertheless found solace in nature growing all manner of plants. While some perished beneath wind and seaspray others flourished creating brilliant unexpected beauty in the wilderness. Modern Nature is both a diary of the garden and a meditation by Jarman on his own life his childhood his time as a young gay man in the 1960s his renowned career as an artist writer and filmmaker. It is at once a lament for a lost generation an unabashed celebration of gay sexuality and a devotion to all that is living. An essential urgent book for the 21st Century Hans Ulrich Obrist This new edition features an introduction from Olivia Laing the author of Crudo