I’m proud of this one. Krisjanis and I had met just once before, got on very well but have notably different aesthetics, and yet weput this together on the day, meeting an hour or so before, with the poems being written in the week before. It captured something beyond itself, the resonance of the symbolism, the christian pagan water rituals, which was perhaps intended as irony, but came through partially sincere, surprised us both, I think, during and afterwards. It felt succinct and alive. It was something that opened up a proper friendship between us, as these collaborations so often do. And for me personally, what could be a more fitting personal farewell to London after this amazing week than having a latvian poet shampoo my hair on kingsland road?
