The C.L.R. James Institute: Poem: "Brixton Thanksgiving, 1983"

The C.L.R. James Institute

Brixton Thanksgiving, 1983

by Jim Murray

When I landed in London I went straight to Nello,
a.k.a. C.L.R. James.
We talked about America for three hours.
He asked if I could come at eight the next morning
to give him his breakfast.
In England this is known as organizing breakfast
which I did for four months.

First day, all day, I organized a wall of books
with bricks and boards and books
from floorbound dusty piles.
Nello as always lay there in bed.
The project was not open for discussion.
I had a vision of the outcome which he could not have had
because he was accustomed to the room-as-it-was
and I am a single minded constructor.

Nello stared at the shelves with surprise and delight
then gift-rapped a "not only...but also" as follows:
Not only do I take esthetic pleasure
in looking at this magnificent sculpture
but also the process, man,
the way you concentrated on the work
will always be part of the pleasure for me.

Well!
Little did Nello know,
if I may say so now,
Little did Nello know,
which no one's ever said,
Little did Nello know
I had a bookcase poem ready to go,
a "but also" to bless our mutual pleasure
called Book Review, it ends with extra credit:
"Bricks and boards hold up my books
so words will never floor me."

Anyway,
I wrote this today
because the Dear Nello Archive
was built the same way
and I daresay
his life's work
is in these lines.

This poem was published in slightly different form in C.L.R. James: His Life and Work, edited by Paul Buhle (London; New York: Allison & Busby, 1986), pp. 247-248.

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Jim Murray, Director (make inquiries here)
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Uploaded: 25 March 2001