Culture Watch

Author Walter Mosley was in town this week to discuss Socrates. Not the ancient Athenian thinker, but his ‘90s incarnation, the hero of Mosley’s new book, “Always Outnumbered, Always Outgunned” (W.W. Norton & Co.)

This Socrates (Socco to his cronies) is a burly, aging ex-con freed after 27 years in prison for rape and double murder. His home is a flimsy wooden shack in a Watts alley, with only a hot plate, table and bed.

But what Socco offers goes beyond material consideration. He is brimming with unused love, a passion for justice, a need to repent that surpasses what the law ordained. He is a sage in rags, burdened with great strength and huge hands that can break bones, along with resolve to use only his heart and his head.

What do you do with a basically good child who helped commit a murder?

What do you do with an evil one, who is knocking off the neighbors?

Socrates finds satisfying, gut-wrenching answers to these and other universal questions without resorting to violence or to 911.

Mosley’s compelling book of connected stories and its unforgettable philosopher-hero is a departure for the author, who’s famous for seven Easy Rawlins mysteries, which President Clinton proclaimed his favorites.

Mosley’s new book is not mystery. He says his new hero “represents people of all classes and colors who strive to develop their own spiritual identities.” But more especially, “Socrates represents the will and ingenuity of L.A.’s black community, which today has many people who stand up, do what’s right and surmount tragedy in order to improve their own and each others’ lives.

“We’ve all been brainwashed to think the only place you can find a great man like Socrates is Harvard, Yale or a place like that. It’s not true,” Mosley says. “Read the book, look around, and you will find they are right here.”

Next up for Mosley is a sci-fi book, then it’s back to both Rawlins and Socco.