Wha blow,So in my last post, I spoke about my reading list, it has all gone to plan and I have not been disappointed once by my choice of books. Lover's Liar's Conjurers and Thieves' was an absolute delight to read, so much so that I will name-check it something I will write soon ish - after the other epic stuff in the process. I am writing a verse to be dropped in a hip hop track, yes people, my first actual foray into that world is on a track called "Rubbish", stranger than fiction I tell you. After that I am working on a three part story with my PiP possey, you will find out more of that in the future, I will publicise that sh*t, believe.
One book I read not on the list has not been published yet. I caught a sneaky peek at it on fellow Gen Txt Tourer - Joe Dunthorne, It is the manuscript of one Ross Sutherland, member of the UK's Aisle 16 crew, (Poetry Boyband, the lead singer is Luke Wright). Now, I was told once, that in the group, Ross was the 'writer' the most talented wielder of words and a hastily sent e-mail to him asking for the manuscript, and a reply with the book in tow, led to me reading all if it in two hours (spread over two days) and realising the rumour was true. The book was COOL. Just steady deftly handled trips into the known and pushing it into the unknown, subject matters from Pac Man to a delicate look at Ikea, an exploration of Swear Words, to a X-Ray'd Love poem called Second Opinion. My favourite has to be 'When Paperboys Roam the Earth' I sent this in response:
'When Paperboys roam the Earth' This was quite vivid for me. I mean, I was never a paper boy, but I wished i was. I had a feeling there was a magic to it, it is ALL here. First line - Perfect.
"your scrappy Reeboks are the first to break the frost"
The first stanza is cinematic, I can see the boy poised at the top of the street, one foot on the pedal, second on the road, the camera begin with a close up of the Reebok, zooms out and travels up past his back, shoulders, head, then goes to the rows of houses picking up "the debris of play things"...
Look out for it, I really hope it is picked up by a publisher. The next few books: 'The Fire People' and anthology of Contemporary Black British Poetr edited by Lemn Sissay, // On the Edge of an Island by Jean Binta Breeze // Shakespeare's As You Like It, and occasional dabbles in John Milton's Every man's Poetry collection // after this will be The Silmarillion, Tolkien's epic novel on the history of middle earth. I read the first 3/4 when I was tour. It inspired so many poems and ideas that i had to stop reading it. 1)because I did not have the time to write the poems 2)I did not want it to end.
Yes, I am a nerd. So what? I journeyed into a park to take a swift arty photograph of the book in its context. Here it is.
Silmarillion.
speak soon. Inua x