Overview

King of Dust is a craftsman’s personal journey through the landscapes of ancient sculpture which first inspired him to pick up tools. From the grandeur of Exeter cathedral to the strangeness of the font at Toller Fratrum in Dorset, this journey through the Romanesque celebrates the lives of medieval carvers and contemporary stonemasons, interwoven with Alex’ own life as he slowly becomes a stonemason. This is the paperback edition of the much-praised hardback.

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9781915068354

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Reviews

'King of Dust is a personal and illuminating pilgrimage into the mysterious deep time of the medieval stonemason’s art as it manifests itself, here, right now. And Alex Woodcock is a fantastic travelling companion.' David Keenan;'A story of deep knowledge, self-discovery, mark-making and deft articulation, King of Dust is a masonic portal through which Alex Woodcock explores humankind’s relationship with stone.’ Dan Richards;'Through his irresistible, honest and gentle detective work he reveals how creative expression in stone has the power to transform human lives.' Beatrice Searle; 'I loved exploring the spaces of this book – the dim forgotten corners, margins and thresholds of architecture, history and belief, teeming with life and meaning. Written with the tactility and insight of a craftsman and the effortless erudition of a scholar, it is a passionate and warm meditation on time, on stone and its shaping, on the place of mystery in the everyday. It acknowledges and celebrates change and continuity, restoration and ruin, the poetics of failure and of perpetual transformation.' Amy Sackville; 'Deeply knowledgeable—Woodcock knows his way around both stone carving technique and medieval sculpture—yet also richly sensitive to feeling and impression.' Pamela Petro; 'In Alex Woodcock's meditative journey around the ancient churches of Devon, Dorset and Cornwall something wonderful is achieved. The centuries in-between drift away as he evocatively connects with the carvers of the Romanesque sculpture that he has sought out.' Andrew Ziminiski; 'What makes it so wonderful is the originality of the subject matter and the clarity and honesty with which he approaches it.' Mathew Clayton, Caught by the River

Author Information

Alex Woodcock is a stone carver and writer from the south coast of England. After completing a doctorate in medieval sculpture he worked for six years at Exeter Cathedral, working to repair the internationally significant west front. He has published work on gothic and Romanesque stone carving, on surrealist artists and the geology of England’s south. An award-winning poet and essayist, in 2013 he was elected a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries.

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