One of my constant dilemmas in translating the Iliad is that the most vivid language in modern English for intimate male friendship in a violent world sounds too slangy, or too tied to a specific city or country or subculture. Also, I& #39;m white, and I& #39;m not a gangsta.

I read Gabriel Krauze& #39;s "Who they was", set in South Kilburn, London. I wish I cd borrow some words: brer, fam, blood, brudda, quicktime, ting, gyal, linking; "round here, for certain man, it& #39;s all about scoring a reputation"; Greeks, put on your Nikes and grillz, do a madness.

I wish I could include some homage to the current oral-ish poetics of rap. But I don& #39;t want gimmicky, and I don& #39;t want appropriation. There& #39;s no truly satisfactory way to recreate a poetic tradition that formed organically, through multiple voices, from different dialects.