There is no library for what i know of books
I only ever see Dave’s face by mail;
his geography is that far from mine.
Our geographies once crossed in Syracuse
where our adult maps were made
and cooling lava shaped the land.
And like that we have cooled.
Now, we lie on sediment and silt.
Dave’s book had me in a Syracuse
when I lost it in the men’s room and then
it was gone and goodbye to all that
and this missing became important to me.
For the next few months it was an omen
and if I stumbled and fell, if I cut my thumb
I would think of Dave’s book and how
it was a sandcastle collapsed in a wave.
By Ryan Van Winkle.
An Easter prayer
There, there
The fool that you are, Robert
Is that druff on your shoulder?
It is not, you fiend
Oh, Meg, tarry a while
I will not, I cannot
Please, I’ll make an honest woman of you
The cheek of it, you don’t have it in you
My kisses say I do.
By Alan McCormick & Jonny Voss.
Performance redux
The film has two elements that are strong: sex and violence. But neither can be neatly parcelled in conventional terms, or neatly presented and tied with a bow, particularly the violence. It’s too easy to tag it to the East End, Bow Bells and neat ribbons. It was the era of the Krays. But it was also the era of the Richardsons, south of the river. And there were others, like Jimmy Evans, who didn’t fit into the gang structure as shown in the film. So the reality is jagged anyway.
Richard Marshall interviews Paul Buck.