‘And near the top an ad-lib schoolgirl choir / Was singing ABBA songs full-throatedly.’

A recipe for verse: mix together a phrase from Henry James with a little bronze statue from Etruria, a mention of Keats, and some exasperation. Now add a clever woman, a sprinkle of hard words, a children’s bear, and a few notes from an air by Bach. When all of that is thoroughly combined, place the resulting compound in a receptacle made of Roman streets, the Spanish Steps and the Borghese Gardens. Leave to rest in a warm place for an unspecified amount of time (you’ll know when it’s ready). Serve viva voce, with improvised accompaniment if desired. An Etruscan Acrobat uses 345 lines of blank verse to tell the beguiling tale of an artist’s evening walk through the streets of Rome. Produced in a limited edition of 50 copies, this beautiful book is hand-stitched by designer Simone Kotva and includes a specially commissioned frontispiece by artist Martin Huxter.

Hand-sewn, paperback with flaps, 156 x 133 mm, 24 pages, 1 illustration.
Designed by Simone Kotva.
June 2014.