I feel fortunate that I have seen Marcus perform twice. I use the word perform because that is what he is. A true performance artist. I still have corporate yolo-ism flashbacks. To watch Marcus on stage is a joy. To follow Marcus on stage must be awful. How do you follow that with your crappy keynote slides?
If you have no idea what Marcus does, watch the Flex Re:watch – one year later, the amount of effort, imagination, stagecraft and technical ability that goes into this is unbelievable. If you love watching the Director’s commentary on films, you’ll surely enjoy this too.
And then earlier this year, Marcus released a book. A long-form poetry book. A Wicked Pack of Cards. A book that touches on some of the themes of his performance.
Poetry?
Yes, poetry. But get over yourself. Poetry is lovely.
I think it’s a very personal book. As all artists do, they reveal themselves in their music, words and actions. Those working in the world of marketing will chuckle to themselves as they recognise themselves or certainly the hustlepreneurs and strugglenauts as they ‘observe, pivot and commit’ and ‘move fast and break people’ as the Business Magician with his Wicked Book of Cards weaves his way through 13 spells.
You’ll enjoy the beautifully observed Procurement Moon and recognise. Every. Single. Meeting. You’ve ever had with procurement departments. You’ll also catch your own breath and recognise the despair of the Hanging Tree. If you’ve tracked Marcus over the years and through his characters, you’ll understand this. I think. I may be wrong but I felt it. It was at this point that the book really got me. I had to stop. If you’ve had any form of struggle (real struggle, not the struggle of the strugglenauts), then you’ll realise where this place is and what lies there. And that also you don’t need to stay there.
I read a review that said the book stays with you. It really does. I think I’ve read it at least four times. You find new things every time. It’s not a long read, you can have a cup of coffee or a glass of wine (or two) and read it. And admire how artistry can move you in the most unexpected ways.
I’ve loved seeing Marcus’ performances evolve. I can’t wait to see what he does next.
Buy the book. It’ll improve your life. Make you take pause and think – what could I do? And it will make Marcus smile. Which will make all of us who enjoy his art smile too.
Side note: this is the first of my intended pre-COVID book reviews. Most of them are still in the office. It may be some time…
