Streetwise: Stories from an Irish Prison
edited by Neville Thompson
Mainstream Publishing, 2004www.nevillethompson.net
Neville Thompson is in Jail
While other well-respected literati sip claret and order butlers to starch their spats, the author of Have Ye No Homes To Go To? spends his time assisting literacy programs for the incarcerated.
How admirable, you say?
Naw, Nev's no goody-two-boots. Insert joke about "captive audience." Pause for laughter. Ultimate Discovery: "[T]here is a great wealth of talented, entertaining people in prison."
Ten inmates, none of whom had never attended a writing workshop before, set episodes from their lives to paper. They then suggested that all proceeds from the resulting collection, Streetwise, be donated to Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children and three other children's hospitals.
Now that is admirable.
Streetwise's best piece is "Fast Cars" by "Chang." (A movie-lovin' dimwit at the local shop once said 'Hey, you know what? You look like this guy, Jackie Chang!' The name stuck.) Chang accidentally stole his parents' car at the age of eight. That episode, understandably, earned him lots of attention. By the age of fifteen, our first-person narrator has robbed bicycles, mopeds, Fords... even a Ferrari. Hey, why dream small? This is faction, a mix of fact and fiction. The only rule: "Write the story that you want to tell."
And that story is told with character. There's detail, both on Chang's thefts and on their consequences. "Fast Cars" is a very interesting piece, on par with professional True Crime tomes on Critical Mick's shelf.
Other selections provide glimpses into the proverbial life of crime. "Pedro" illustrates youthful drug addiction and the violent robberies necessary to fuel it. "Mucka" relates a vivid story of foster care abuse. These are Irish versions of well-worn social arguments, and sometimes they include a treat. "Not So Funny Now," J.F's depiction of deprived upbringing, closes on a moment touching enough to have come from Hemingway, or (better) Elizabeth McCracken.
The one story that is not a realistic auto-biographical sketch is "Easy Money" by "A.D." Thirty-five pages of pulp fiction. The loot robbed by a Cork city crook turns out to be IRA money. Tommy can't escape even by running to London. International terrorism proves to be a world of guns, drugs, and foul-mouthed double-dealing hard men.
Snooty critics will turn up their starched spats and whine in a D4 accent, "Oh, pshwa! All these facts has already been well established, I daresay!" Critical Mick will kick their fancy pants. It is an accomplishment to outline, write, complete and edit a story at all. Like eager members of Imaginaries or Critters, these amateur writers are driven by the tales within them. That their skills are only beginning to develop is part of the appeal.
Critical Mick says: James Joyce never went to prison. Read Streetwise for its voices, its gritty authenticity, and to help a great cause.
Mick proudly presents a profile of Neville Thompson on the DFA Guide to Dublin.
Streetwise is what you expect, but with a few surprises. Recommended by Critical Mick.
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