Karl Wiggins' Taxi Driver Pieces

Night on Earth is pretty taxi-orientated surely.. and is probably in my top five. Agree with Karl on exactly why Buckowski is good ..still got bored halfway through Women' though.

I like these pieces too, Rokkit. I've been a fan of Karl's writing since he first appeared on the site. Having met the man though I know that he is not the hard case he so often describes. He's a lovely, caring guy who's been in some seriously tough times. He can handle himself, as they say, but knows to keep it in check. This inevitably gives anyone who has been through these experiences a slightly soured view of life - and that is his. He is always honest, often funny and exceedingly perspicacious. He allows us to see the world through his eyes - and that allows us to understand others better. That is the mark of a very fine writer and one of these days Karl will be recognised!

I suppose I was interested, Tony, because being someone who has basically only ever worked menial customer service jobs (shop assistant, bar tender, etc) I feel I can relate to that slowly burgeoning sense of hating the idiocy and general nastiness of the public. I think it partially stems from the skewed power relationship - there is a certain type of person who feels, because they are paying you, they are under no obligation to treat you in a civil or reasonable manner. Perhaps a little reflection would be nice. I mean, like you, I found the pieces made for effortless reading and were enjoyable, but I could also relate to some of the passengers. I've been drunken and stupid in a taxi on more than one occasion, and yet I don't feel that makes me a c**t. It's like, Karl's reactions are very personal, and he seems to sum up someone's whole personality on the basis of one, very short meeting, with a very specific purpose and power dynamic. To me, it left me wondering how we can cultivate forgiveness, or at the very least tolerance in our lives, if only for the sake of reducing our own burden of stress. I know that sounds totally mawkish. Ho-hum.

I haven't read all of the sections, but certainly a number of them. The one you cite above was particularly strong, I thought. It had me laughing out loud several times, which doesn't happen often to me. It reminded me a lot of Bukowski's novels, but particularly Factotum and Post Office. In the former the hero has a string of menial jobs and terrible bosses. In the latter, the hero has one job and terrible bosses and customers (he sorts and delivers mail). Both are highly autobiographical. I've never had a so-called menial job for any length of time, though frankly, the only significan difference between a menial job and a so-called "professional" level job is the pay. Other than that, the abuse is just about the same, merely expressed in a different way (sometimes). Some of the most ignorant and abusive people I've ever met in my life are senior managers on Wall Street or in the City, many of them with degrees from top universities and big bank accounts. What makes something like the cabbie series interesting is that is represents an extreme of experience. If everyone were polite and honest all the time, there would be no story, at least not one I would want to read. Now, the hero could be a bricklayer or a ditch digger, but those jobs don't involve much interaction with other people, so there are probably fewer opportunties for interesting things to happen. Besides, everyone has a cabbie story, even if they've never been one. Imagine how many stories a cabbie has! In fact, we've had a cabbie telling stories from his job at several of the live events, and he was very funny. Someone once told me he starts off each day forgiving five a***holes in advance before leaving the house in the morning. In his case, that is usually enough to get through the day without firing off at anyone. Sounds like a plan, but he must live in a very special neighborhood. I can barely make it out the door without meeting 5 such people, and I live alone. :))) *perhaps all five are me, I know..I know*

I've said before that I love the Cab Driver stories - and especially the effing whingeing. There's an honesty to Karl's writing and personally I think if he tried to be more reflective that authenticity would be lost. There's real generosity towards the strippers and gypsies he's got to know, and even when he's less than fair to other punters, he's not censoring himself - that would be very PC and very boring. There's a tendency to big yourself up in (auto)biographical writing which has been neatly avoided here. It's one thing to live the life but quite another to be able to write about your experiences in a way that people can relate to, be entertained and provoked by. I think these stories achieve all 3.

Thank you all, especially Tony for your kind words and faith in me. Strangely enough, I was intending to start a thread loosely based around this very set entitled "Why I will probably never be published" in the General Discussion section, althoug not wishing to be accused of self-promotion I wasn't going to mention the pieces. (I'll probably still issue the comments in a few minutes but link them to this thread now). Big thank you to Rokkitnite for bringing these pieces to the public attention. My language is rife, I know, although I don't think that was what disturbed Rokkit. More the fact that I appear to whinge - and even hate - every passenger. Cab drivers swear, so do brickies, chippies, plumbers and stock brokers. Not all my passengers were arseholes. Many, many of them (Strippers, for instance, as Tara so kindly mentions) I had extremely pleasant conversations with. However, for the most part this wouldn't make very interesting reading - at least for a writer of my limited ability. I have about three more stories to add to the set, and to be truthful the people don't get any nicer, although there are some humourus anecdotes to come. What I really hoped to do with this set was to put over the cab driver's point of view. It can be a lonely job and more often than not cabbies are met with distrust by the general public. About 50% of people expect a cabbie to try and rip them off. And with illegal cabs, unless you establish the fare up front, this may happen. But a genuine cabbie is too preoccupied with clearing you fast and getting to the next pick-up (the next POB), so he can clear that in time to pick up that decent return he's got booked for later. I've always chatted to cabbies, and thus it came as quite a shock to realise how rude the general public can be. They leave cans of coke and litter in your car and often talk about you as if you weren't even in the car with them. Most drunks are harmless. They're just grateful to be getting a lift home, and the only thing on their mind is bed. However, some can be complete wankers. And if that is the only side of themselves they decide to show me on our journey, then that is how I will judge them. If they threaten me or puke in my car, I'm afraid it's not in my nature to turn the other metaphorical cheek and say, "Oh well, bless him, he's had a little bit too much to drink." I repeat, many passengers were lovely, and I enjoyed them a lot, but unless we had a really good laugh it would make dull reading. However, driving a cab really does give you small glimpses into other people's lives and lifestyles. They become one with you for only a few brief minutes, and this I found fascinating. Some, you want to get out of the car as fast as possible. Others, you genuinely wish you could stay in touch with. It's a fascinating lifestyle and you never know what the next pick-up will bring, as I hope to demonstrate in the next three, as yet, unwritten stories. There's more cameraderie amongst the night drivers, for instance, because we all knew the dangers we faced. And we'd all know that there would never any hep at hand. Once again, thank you for enjoying my work. It's very encouraging. Karl

'I don't think that was what disturbed Rokkit. More the fact that I appear to whinge - and even hate - every passenger' I think, on reflection, Karl, it was more the fact that I could see elements of myself in both the narrator and in some of the @!#$ passengers. I suppose, to an extent, it shone a rather unflattering light back on me, reminding me I can not only be thoroughly intolerant and judgemental, but inconsiderate and irritating into the bargain. I don't know that throwing in a few friendly passengers would make for dull reading. It would be interesting to get a feel for the monotony of the job, or for some of the rides back when the cabby is alone with his thoughts. I look forward to more, in any case. Thanks very much, Karl.

Karl, here are some ideas I've had for expanding your Cab Driver set: Introduce another narrative thread, possibly contrasting life outside work with the stories about people you meet on the cabs. Bukowski's novels aren't plot-driven in the conventional sense, but the conflict between work and personal life is central. Perhaps you could make some of the other characters more significant - like the woman who suggested you write about her life. Or else you could link the cab stories to wider issues going on in your community and the world, social and political. Colin Bateman's Cycle of Violence novels (including Divorcing Jack) are set against the backdrop of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. The hero, Dan Starkey, is like Bateman a journalist. In his pursuit of a story, Starkey gets embroiled in situations that are both shocking and hilarious. I would describe the novels as surreal comic thrillers, but with a basis in real experience. I've mentioned these writers because they can switch from funny to sad and back again, and I've noticed this in your work.

Tara, You've supported me and shone a flame for these stories from day one, and for that I owe you. I don't know Bateman's work, but I'm a big fan of Bukowski. As Justyn once mentioned, he makes you feel like writing. And he does! But then it's easy to get despondent, because you can't write as well as him. (I don't mean YOU can't write as well as Bukowski, I mean that I can't equal his genius). And for the life of me I can't quite put my finger on what exactly he does. Maybe, and this may sound like an answer to Rokkit's original contentions (although it's not meant to), it's that he thinks everyone else apart from himself and whatever current girlfriend he's with at the time is an arsehole. He has absolutely no respect for anyone, including himself. Perhaps that's the secret. Contradicting myself slightly, but he's just one more arsehole. Maybe I tend to big up myself too much in these pieces, although in your comments above you claim this isn't the case. But if I were to rewrite the cabbie stories with myself as just one more arsehole on the streets at night that could have greater effect. Or would that be depressing? I'll have to think about that one, as I will some of your other ideas.

I found the film 'Tube Tales' to be fascinating, Karl, and the only connection between the tales was that it was set on and around the Underground. I can’t see why a taxi is not as good a connection - perhaps you should write a screen play.