"Flaminia Cruciani's language holds the vivid and evocative between its fingers like glue and lets us see the natural world and mysteries of the cosmos. A Crown of Flames is a celebration that delves into the mysteries of human civilization, illuminating the hidden depths of our shared human experience. Cruciani's words evoke a sense of awe and reverence for the natural world. Each poem in this collection feels like a masterful exploration of the soul, inviting readers to see the world in new and profound ways."
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—Tshaka Campbell, Santa Clara County Poet Laureate, author of Tunnel Vision (NaturalKink Enterprises, 2018)
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"Flaminia Cruciani’s A Crown of Flames is a lush, often times terrifying, mythic, end/restart of civilization—a tour of the history of literature, philosophy, and western ideals—churning images that range between pastoral and apocalyptic. A book of revelations—quixotic, Odyssean, Catholic, and quintessentially Italian."
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––Linda Ravenswood, Winner of the Oxford Prize in Poetry and Edwin Markham Prize in Poetry
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“Flaminia Cruciani––a high priestess of poetry; steadfast custodian of word and metre––burns meanings into visions; scolds thoughts into actions. A Crown of Flames bears witness in English to the breadth and depth of her inspiration.”
 
––Marco Sonzogni, Director of New Zealand Centre for Literary Translation, Victoria University of Wellington
 
“Flaminia Cruciani writes similar to an acrobat—body swinging in waves—in the dance that tries to unbalance and rebalance the two scenarios: the musical order, the measure in Beckett, the convulsive frenzy, the cruelty, in Artaud. Always intertwined, intermingled, in flashes. Paradoxically, it is her archaeological vocation (see her Lezioni di immortalità) that evokes, by relaunching, the acute, excruciating impact of music in writing; as if it were the shaking earthquake of the earth, in its uneven stratifications, resounded in the rhythmic-timbral beat of her poetry. The acoustics of the soul find vibrations in the auscultation of the excavations; the shocks engraved in the past, its sound wave. It is the strong call, of Proustian influence, of a “search for lost time” in the wake of space that will not cease to fuel her verbal gasps.”
 
––Carlo Pasi, pupil of Giovanni Macchia, professor of French literature at the University of Pisa
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"The poems collected in Flaminia Cruciani’s A Crown of Flames shriek in the night, break the glass of complacency with the black crystal of passion. The language is vivid, original and startling, and the ideas are carried by the music of the verses in images that defy conventional and limiting associations. A superb and challenging work."
 
—Richard Modiano, Director Emeritus Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center
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"A Crown of Flames is a deeply emotional text of premonition and passion, and their various manifestations. This is the book of visions, where beauty of hope is encircled by naked feelings. Verses and aphorisms are simmering with words that bring out an introspective nature of ourselves, of time, of life and every side of loneliness, expectation, or fears. Yet, this riveting collection is a colorful exposition of breath, it carves out the most mysterious and divine aspect of love masterfully. Flaminia’s words have birthed A Crown of Flames. What an aptly named message."
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—David Dephy, founder of Poetry Orchestra, author of Eastern Star (Adelaide Books, 2020)
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“Examining the boundaries of, and interconnections between, love and faith, nature and humanity, A Crown of Flames by Flaminia Cruciani is an astonishing collection thrumming with quiet intensity. This important body of work feels both contemporary and timeless."
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––Natalie Sierra, author of Medusa (DSTL Arts, 2020) and Charlie, Forever and Ever (FlowerSong Press, 2021)
 
 
 
 
Flaminia Cruciani was born in Rome. She holds a BA in Archeology and History of Ancient Near East Art and a PhD in Oriental Archeology from the University of Rome, La Sapienza. For many years, Cruciani participated in the annual excavation campaigns at Ebla as a member of the Italian archaeological expedition in Syria. Lezioni di immortalità, la vita, gli antichi, il senso della archeologia, based on her extensive knowledge of archaeology and poetry, (Mondadori, 2018), won the Premio Montale Fuori Di Casa “Sezione Saggistica” prize in 2019. Cruciani works as a consultant for several archaeological projects coordinated by the University of Rome, La Sapienza, and the Municipality of Rome.
 
As a creative writer, Flaminia Cruciani has published Sorso di notte potabile (LietoColle, 2008), Dentro (Pulcinoelefante, 2008), Frammenti (Pulcinoelefante, 2013), Lapidarium (Puntoacapo, 2015), Semiotica del male (Campanotto, 2016), Piano di evacuazione (Samuele Editore, 2017), a selection of her poems translated into English, We Were Silent in the Same Language (Gradiva Publications, 2018) and Chora, co-authored with Ilaria Caffio (Spagine, Fondo Verri, 2018). Her anthology of poems translated into Spanish, Callábamos en la misma lengua, Sonámbulos Ediciones, was published in Granada, Spain in 2020.
 
Flaminia Cruciani's poems have been published in numerous anthologies and translated into Arabic, Bulgarian, English, French, Korean, Mandarin, Romanian and Spanish. She is regularly invited to international poetry festivals around the world. She is a member of the Académie Européenne Des Sciences, Des Arts Et Des Lettres of France.