Namesakes

It's always good to check that titles to your books / chapbooks/ pamphlets / CDs / etc., either haven't been used yet, or alternatively, have been used for something else that they won't get mixed up with. 'The Book of Contentions' hasn't really any exact namesakes that I could find - but interestingly, there IS a monograph called (and in other editions just 'Strife between the') 'Al Maqrizi's Book of Contention and Strife concerning the relations between the Banu Umayya and the Banu Hashim' - now, whilst I know nothing about the latter two clans, it appears (from cursory Google research) that they are Islamic tribal peoples, AND that Al Maqrizi was an Egyptian scholar 1364-1442, and so seeing as 'The Book of Contentions' starting point was the Occupation of Iraq, that seems itself something of a serendipity.
   'The Book of Indictments' also has some interesting connections - again, there isn't (so far as I've found) an exact match, but what there is is fascinating - 'Officium clerici pacis: a book of indcitments, informations, inquisitions and appeals...with large additions of modern indictments' !!! about which it says; 'The 18th century was a wealth of knowledge, exploration and rapidly growing technology and expanding record-keeping made possible by advances in the printing press. Now for the first time these high-quality digital copies of original 18th century manuscripts are available in print, making them highly accessible to libraries, undergraduate students, and independent scholars. This collection reveals the history of English common law and Empire law in a vastly changing world of British expansion. Dominating the legal field is the Commentaries of the Law of England by Sir William Blackstone, which first appeared in 1765. Reference works such as almanacs and catalogues continue to educate us by revealing the day-to-day workings of society.' Fantastic! for a history fanatic, anyway. Plus, from 1618, more court records - 'PROCESS REGISTER BOOK OF INDICTMENTS. VOLUME. I. f. 122. James Scutts and George Richardson of St. Martin's-in-theFields for burglary; both at large.' Perfect!      
   For 'The Book of Offences', I made it into a feature, citing it on the back cover, the fact that the Swedish law codes were codified in the Code of 1734, divided into two parts - The Book of Offences, and The Book of Punishments! Absolutely classic. As it says in the back cover blurb; 'Not to be confused with the Swedish Book of Offences of 1734, and undoubtedly not its companion, The Book of Punishments...'

   Finally 'The Book of Convictions' also appears to have no exact namesake, the nearest being 'The Book of the Beliefs and Convictions' a phrase in a book of 'Medieval Jewish Philosophical Writings'. So, also historical, and not without a kind of resonance. 

   It was really interesting to find oneself trawling through places like the National Library of Australia online catalogue to find out about the texts with 'names like..' - I recommend it! 

The Book of Convictions

The fourth in The Books of...Trilogy / series is now out, 'The Book of Convictions', and it was odd how new pieces kept on getting themselves written, and then how another Book shaped itself out of the majority of them - themes emerging, following on from the previous Books, deepening and broadening the notions explored, in some cases. At last I managed to decide on a title (from the various options), and a cover image - another from the brilliant Banksy. 'The Book of Indictments' having the scissors cutting out a section of wall, 'The Book of Offences' having the famous barcode as gaol bars, and 'The Book of Convictions' having the wall built by the Israeli government in the West Bank with the image of an opening in the wall looking out onto palm trees etc..
   In a sense it is still a Trilogy, as 'The Book of Contentions' can easily act as Book Zero, as it's quite different in character to the other three. It certainly starts the ball rolling, but being 150 odd aphorisms all in sequence, it's a different kettle of fish to the others with their 'chapters' each often self-contained as poems. The project appears now to be ongoing! But then there is an awful lots of news...bad news, and stuff going on all the time... Like a satirical cartoon strip, it seems that there's no lack of material for such a series.
   There are plenty of other pieces, some pasted up as 'Indictments of the Month' on the Cartwheels Collective website, some that just didn't fit the feel of one of the Books, some I just don't like very much! Having to write about something, especially something unpleasant, doesn't automatically make one like a piece of work! Even if you think it has 'something to say'.
   But I think I'm pleased with how 'The Book of Convictions' hangs together...and it's rather a nice shade of green...