The novelist talks to Jasmin Kirkbride about returning to poety after being "diverted" to fiction
Louis de Bernières' house is exactly as you imagine a writer's house ought to be. Cozy yet somewhat labyrinthine, half-open doors giving hints at rooms packed with curiosities beyond: a half-built guitar on a long dining table, the flick of a cat's tail around a doorframe, stacks of musical instruments and books. One would expect the man who lives in this house to write love poetry, and de Bernières' latest collection, Of Love and Desire, doesn't disappoint.
First love: poetry
De Bernières has made his career in novels, notably Captain Corelli's Mandolin (1994), which won the Commonwealth Writers Prize, and the more recent The Dust That Falls From Dreams (2015). In recent years, however, he has begun to publish poetry, which he has been writing since he was very young. The latest collection includes poems from his 20s right up to the present day, the earliest one being "On Giving a Silver Heart to a Cruel Lady".
