Evidently Ecclestown

I've been thinking about poetry a lot lately.

The way that little rhymes (or complex rhythms)
can be used to create a simple image or an epic story.

I have a few favourite poets, however there is one to whom
I come back to the most: The Punk Poet, Johnny Cooper Clarke.

I suppose that it's his honesty, bravery, wit, and sharpness that attract me. His poems are so easy to read, yet pack more punches
in less time than Iron Mike.

I was re-watching an interview from the '80s he did Down Under, where he performs my favourite (ever?) poem "TWAT" when I saw a link to a performance of "Evidently Chickentown" by another great British talent, Christopher Eccleston.

It blew me away.

The acting, the way it was edited, the look and feel of it. It's realism. How purposefully raw and low-grade the image quality is.

Everything, all of it, builds and builds to make Ecclestone's feral performance even more real, angry, bitter and perfect. It embodies everything Cooper Clarke's work stood for.

And when it's over, you'll be able to smell the cigarette ash on your shirt and see the spit in your pint.