Lee Rourke: Vulgar Things

Equally, Thomas G. Bergin’s Petrarch: Selected Sonnets, Odes and Letters (Revised edition, Harlan Davidson, 2011) has left an indelible mark upon this work. Translations of Petrarch’s Rerum vulgarium fragmenta have been reproduced with the kind permission of the publisher.

It goes without saying that this book could not have been written without W. F. Jackson Knight’s wonderful translation of Virgil’s The Aeneid (Penguin Books, 2000) and Robert Williams Buchanan’s little known gem Andromeda: an Idyll of the Great River (Chatto & Windus, 1900).

I would like to thank Wilko Johnson (to whom this book is dedicated) for his music, wise words and inspiration. It’s a pleasure to sit down with you and simply listen to your stories.

Special thanks to Olly Rowse, a truly great editor and scholar, and all at Fourth Estate, a truly great publisher. And to Mark Richards, who believed in my work from the beginning. Without your initial input this work of fiction might never have seen the light of day — I owe you.

Thanks, of course, to Deborah Levy, Stuart Evers, Tom McCarthy and Eimear McBride for their kind words (especially to Stuart Evers who read an early draft and gave me invaluable advice). I’m truly honoured.

And to Gavin James Bower, James Miller, Nikesh Shukla, Niven Govinden, and Suzanne Azzopardi — for the banter along the way. Zöe Have for Dr. feelgood advice. My agent Donald Winchester. And especially to Will Wiles (for your knowledge and our wonderful conversations about container ships).

To Anne Rourke, Damon Rourke, and my father Brian Rourke for your continued support. To my in-laws Pat and Marion Ahern, who first took me to Canvey Island, revealing to me its charm, secrets and strange ways — something I just couldn’t ignore. Their sense of adventure, vim, and thirst for life are truly remarkable.

Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Holly Ahern, for being my inspiration and true love and our daughter, Theola (Thea) Elodie Rose, for bringing new joy to my heart — my love for you both is without end. These words will never be enough.

Lee Rourke is the author of the short-story collection Everyday , the novel The Canal (winner of the Guardian’s Not The Booker Prize 2010) and the poetry collection Varroa Destructor . He is Writer-in-Residence at Kingston University, where he is an MFA lecturer in creative writing and critical theory. He also lectures in creative writing at the University of East London. He lives by the sea.

Follow him on Twitter: @leerourke