Ok - some explanation needed here. Quite apart from all the stuff I
wrote in 'Why', the point is, the guy has had the most amazing
life. Incredible. Bonkers anecdotes coming out of his ears about
everything from living with a circus as a kid to Catholic Brothers
Schools to politics to independent film in the early seventies, to
the BBC to… and so on.. There is no way I could begin to write a
biography of him, and that's not the point. Ok, what is… Right.
Two things I have almost down on my knees admiration for. "Video
Nation" on BBC2 and Studs Terkel's books. The old adage that "everyone
has a book in them" maybe true but screw books (er, just go with this
for the moment) because to write a book about your life well is a
feat most people would never aspire to not least because, well - who
the hell is going to buy a book by 'some bloke'? That 'some bloke'
would have to be a literary sensation for it to work as a concept
from scratch. What Mr Terkel does is value the voice of the
individual, but also put it in the context of a community, and what
brilliant voices he finds in these people. What "Video Nation" does is give a confident voice to individuals who might never think of what they were doing in terms of it being eloquent. Sometimes I feel shocked by the cacophony of individual lives and musings around me. Anyway, so what this Internet electronic device does is say 'write what you like, when you like. It doesn't have to conform to anything you have previously been taught is important in style or form as long as you like it'. It doesn't mean you become famous, but it means that you are claiming your textual rights in this world.
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