What He Would Have Wanted

Nicolas Labbe - my e-friend and fellow Lowry enthusiast sent me the above photo sometime ago so I apologise for the tardiness in sharing!

Malcolm Lowry
Late of the Bowery
His prose was flowery
And often glowery
He lived, nightly, and drank, daily,
And died playing the ukulele.

Lowry came up with this little doggerel, as an epitaph for himself. It was meant to be half joke, half serious; which was perfect in regards to the man and his life lived. However, when Malcolm eventually ended up dying at the age of 47, of "misadventure", his second wife refused to have the epitaph put on his tombstone. She simply went with name, and date born and died.

See Malc's headstone in Ripe

So, I present to the world, an alternate headstone design, on a flask. I like to think he would have wanted it that way... (I reserve the right to be wrong, of course)

I love this flask. One of a kind, much like the writer.

See other Lowry images on Nicolas's photostream on Flickr