What are you writing about at present?

The Generation of 98 have you heard of them?

Vaguely

They were a group of novelists and poets and philosophers active in Spain in 1898

Lorca was a member I believe

That would have been hard as Lorca was born in 1898

Who were the Generation of 98?

As I said they were a group of novelists and poets and philosophers active in Spain in 1898

You have to remember that Spain had lost many of its colonies such as Cuba the Philippines and Puerto Rico and this amongst many other things created a moral social and a political crisis

And this is where the Generation of 98 came in

They were a group of intellectuals who criticised the establishment for their conformity amongst other things

They thought the country was drained of its spirit

This criticism was aimed at literary as well as educational establishments

The Art Class

Do you dream?

Frequently

Tell me of your last dream

It was a strange dream as the other dream I had that night was violent 

I was fighting and suffered injury

Tell me about your second dream

It was a gentle dream in comparison to the first

Describe it to me

I found myself with a group of strangers both men and women of various ages

We were on a field trip but a field trip with a difference

How was it different?

We were a group of artists who were to draw from life in a field which was near to a river

Go on

The dream did not exactly start in the field as I found myself in a passage with white walls which led to the field

I was in a type of college an art college maybe

Describe the field

It was like any other field except it was bordered by a river

What happened when you reached this field?

Well this is where my dream became strange

Why strange?

Well the artist in charge paired us off and suggested that we remove our clothes and draw each other from life

I take it there was no model

Not one that I could see

How did you feel about removing your clothes?

Well nudity does not bother me it never has after all it is all skin and some hair but for some reason I felt nervous about removing my clothes

Did any of the others share your inhibitions?

Not really most of the group stripped without hesitation

What was your worry?

It was quite simple I was afraid that I would become erect

Did you become erect?

Did the nakedness arouse you?

No

So you stayed dressed?

No I undressed

I remember looking at a small fat girl who was sketching her partner not far from where I was standing

She was totally oblivious to me

I looked at her fat bottom and thought how stupid I was being

Who was your partner?

A woman called Kay

Did you find her attractive and was that the reason you feared that you would become aroused?

No I did not find her attractive but I did find an inner beauty in her

Was it her manner that you found attractive?

No I found her beautiful as she was two or three months pregnant

There was softness within her

That is rather abstract

I cannot explain it but I sensed softness within her

So you like seeing pregnant women naked?

Not really but when I do see a pregnant woman naked I find that there is a great deal to admire

Was Kay showing outward signs of her pregnancy?

Obviously her belly was a little swollen and her breast were bigger

Her nipples and areola’s were quite dark and prominent

She was with child

Did you sketch her?

Yes

And she drew you

Yes

How did you feel as she sketched you?

I felt a sense of freedom

And your fear of an erection?

I knew that if I became erect then she would understand and take it naturally  

Did you not feel embarrassed standing naked in a field next to a river?

I was not the only one naked and the people passing took no notice of me or the others

Indeed a small number of them were also naked 

How did your dream end?

It ended when one of the people passing approached Kay and asked where he might hire a taxi as he needed to get to a nearby town in a hurry

And that was it?

Yes I woke up and the dream was gone

My Uncle in Runcorn

Do you read newspapers?

How do you find them?

Idiotic mostly

It you read a report in a newspaper that features a photograph of a person who has recently died how do you feel?

I feel sad for them

Do you feel anything else?

Would you enlarge on your question

Let’s say you are looking at a photograph of a man or woman who has died in a car crash what do you feel

Well I feel that they did not start their journey intending to die

Do you look at their eyes?

Yes

What do you see?

That their eyes are dead

They stare at you in a vacancy

Even if they are not looking at the camera

There is no communication

Here is a cutting from our local paper which reports on the tragic deaths of the four young people who died in that appalling accident on the by-pass

What do you see?

I am looking at the photographs of two girls and two boys

I imagine that they are all under thirty

They appear to be in a bar

Do you think that they knew that they were going to die in that blazing wreck on the by-pass?

And at that exact moment the driver of the lorry was drinking in a pub some miles away

Obviously they did not know what was going to happen to them when this photograph was taken

If they had known that they were going to crash head on with the lorry they would have taken another route or not travelled at all

What do you see?

The vacancy of their eyes

And I am aware that they have the answer to a question that I can only begin to guess at

That question being?

The existence of an afterlife

They now know the answer

They could be all in the company of angels in Heaven or experiencing the nothingness of an eternal void

Do you believe in an afterlife?

Yes

I have one more question for you

Go ahead

Do you have an uncle in Runcorn?

No

Lorca

When you are writing about the Generation of 98 do you have a favourite within the group?

No

So Lorca is not your favourite

He was not a member of the Generation of 98

The only connection he has to that year is that it was the year of his birth

1898

Yes

Ignoring the Generation of 98 what do you think of Lorca as a poet?

I think he was a poet of genius

A visionary

A visionary such as William Blake or Samuel Palmer during his Shoreham period

Yes they all saw the world from differing angles

Does the fact that Lorca was murdered in 1936 bother you?

Yes

In what way?

He was murdered by the fascists partly because he was a homosexual

Are you a homosexual?

No

Do you approve of homosexuals?

I cannot answer that question

Why?

Because I have mixed feelings on the subject

Continue

Well if I take a secular view then although I am not attracted to men I know that some men are and why should I harm or despise them

But if I view the question from a Christian viewpoint then the subject makes me uncomfortable  

So the murder of Lorca upsets you

Yes

I feel the terror he must have suffered when he was taken out and shot

How do you feel this?

I just feel the fear 

You cannot begin to experience the fear that Lorca experienced during those final moments on the road between Viznar and Alfacar

I feel it when I am writing

I feel it when I read his poetry

Like those four people killed in that awful car crash he could not have known what was about happen to him

He knew that he was a target

So were many people in Spain at the time

His brother in law was assassinated on the same day that Lorca was arrested

The 18th of August 1936

They murdered Lorca on the 19th of August 1936 or so people belive

When they shot Lorca they destroyed his vision

They were evil men

Could you not say that they were misguided?

No his assailants were evil men

We all have a capability for evil

Possibly but I do not think that statement covers all people

Perhaps

I do not buy into the devil and the hell theories but I do believe that evil exists

Then you are saying that twins born to the same mother could differ

Yes

One might become a serial killer whereas the other might become a missionary and dedicate his life to helping people

I do believe that some men and women and women have an inner capacity for evil you only have to look at the death camps to illustrate that

Can you forgive an evil act such as the murder of Lorca?

No

Do you think that God could forgive the gunmen who murdered Lorca?

I am not God

If a truly evil man or woman from a death camp sought God’s forgiveness do you think he would grant it to them?

You are generalising

But God forgives all sinners

Does he forgive all sinners?

What do you mean?

Would he forgive someone from a Nazi death camp who had slaughtered or had been complicit in the slaughter of innocents?

Would he forgive them?

I cannot answer that question

Why?

The answer is obvious

That being?

I am not God