The word on the street
Encyclopedia
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
-based book by Rob Lacey
Rob Lacey
Rob Lacey was a British actor, storyteller and author of the word on the street and The Liberator.- Background :...
that paraphrases key Bible stories using modern language.
Publication
It is Lacey's first major book, and was originally published in 2003 as the street bible. the word on the street is described as a "'dangerously real' retelling of Scripture,"http://www.laceyproductions.co.uk/the%20books%20home.htm condensing the story of the Bible in less than 500 pages, paraphrasing the text in a distinctive, urban style inspired by Lacey's performances. Major biblical stories are recast as mini-blockbusters; individual psalms are rewritten as song lyrics; the letters of Paul become emails to the fledgling "Jesus Liberation Movement" (aka the church). the word on the street is published by ZondervanZondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association .- History :...
.
At the same time the book was launched, Lacey partnered with musicians Bill Taylor-Beales and Rachel Taylor-Beales to produce an audio CD of his 75-minute performance of the Bible. The CD was nominated for an Audie Award
Audie Awards
The Audie Awards are annually bestowed annually in the USA for outstanding audiobooks. The Audies have been granted by the Audio Publishers Association, a not-for-profit trade organization, since 1996. The nominees are announced each year in January, and the winners are announced at a gala banquet...
by the Audio Publishers Association in 2004.
The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 2003 and was one of the bestselling religious books for the next two years, ultimately winning the Christian Booksellers Convention's Book of the Year award in 2004. In the US, Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble, Inc. is the largest book retailer in the United States, operating mainly through its Barnes & Noble Booksellers chain of bookstores headquartered at 122 Fifth Avenue in the Flatiron District in Manhattan in New York City. Barnes & Noble also operated the chain of small B. Dalton...
recognized the word on the street as one of the ten best "religion & spirituality" books of 2004. Lacey Theatre Company toured shows based on this book in 2004-5 and 2005-6.
Lacey followed this book with The Liberator
The Liberator (book)
The Liberator is a creative retelling of the life of Jesus by Rob Lacey, author of the word on the street. It was published by Zondervan in March 2006....
(2006), a retelling of the life of Jesus based on the gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke. Lacey Theatre Company toured shows based on this book in 2007 and 2008, and extracts from it were also performed in "St David’s Praise" (31st May 2008 , St David’s Hall in Cardiff).
Analysis of the text
The author and Christian reviewers have described the book as the Bible as performance artPerformance art
In art, performance art is a performance presented to an audience, traditionally interdisciplinary. Performance may be either scripted or unscripted, random or carefully orchestrated; spontaneous or otherwise carefully planned with or without audience participation. The performance can be live or...
. In the words of the author, "No way is this the Proper Bible. It’s a trailer for, an intro to, an overview of The Bible (capital 'B'). For those who’ve never read it, And those who’ve read it so much it’s gone stale on them".http://www.portsmouth.anglican.org/jesus/the_street_bible/
The following shows a comparison between the KJV and the word on the street:
| Translation | Genesis 1:1-3 |
|---|---|
| King James Version | In the beginning God created the heaven and earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. |
| the word on the street | First off, nothing. No light, no time, no substance, no matter. Second off, God starts it all up and WHAP! Stuff everywhere! The cosmos in chaos: no shape, no form, no function– just darkness ... total. And floating above it all, God’s Holy Spirit, ready to play. Day one: Then God’s voice booms out, ‘Lights!’ and, from nowhere, light floods the skies and ‘night’ is swept off the scene. |
This is a paraphrase not a literal translation.