Book Review: Thirst; The Man Made of Rain; Unlegendary Heroes;

Da id Whea ley, Thi s . Loughc ew, Co. Mea h: Galle y Books, £12.95(Ha dback), 6.95 (Pape back). B endan. The Man Made o Rain. Newcas le - upon - Tyne: Books, 1998. £7.95 (Pape back). y He oes. Cli so Mohe , Co. Cla e: Salmon P ess,1998. (Pape back). I is disconce ing o inda poem abou he onse o g ey hai in a i s collec ion, bu Da id Whea ley has been a ound o qui e some ime now. His name is amilia om equen appea ance o his poems in pe iodicals (including winningp izes, being a w i e in esidence, edi ingand e iewing. Hehasse ed a longapp en iceship. Thi s is he only i s collec ion among he h ee books unde conside a ion he e,bu i is hemos assu ed in i shandlingo o m. Fo hose o us whosubsc ibe o heidea ha he e is no such hing as a ee e se, i is g a i ying o come ac oss a poe p epa ed o y his hand a ses inas, sonne s, oc osyllabics, ansla ionsand e sions om a ioussou ces, epig ams, a p ose poem, a long poem, medi a ions in hymingcouple s, e c. A imes, he s ain in ol ed insea ching o such e sa ili y becomes appa en . Fo ins ance, a good es o any ses ina is o look a he six wo ds chosen o he epea ed line endings - how much ingenui y will hey demand on he pa o he poe ? Fou o Whea ley'swo ds in " B ayHead " a e " scene " , " ai " , " shadow " and " sea " a he gene alised and nondesc ip o apoemwhich isli lemo e han a e bal pos ca d om heWicklowcoas .A much mo esuccess ul, and mo e knowing, " pos ca d poem " is " Li huania: BOOK REVIEWS A long b iny Bal ic slapsagains he dyke, comes apa in hund eds - and - housands you and soaks you h ough: B ies wea he . hecoal - eyed old Jews a es in o a poin ed camco de While a guanoed Lenin do s his cap, p opped igid in cas - i on,epochalsleep. Thi s has abou i some hingo heai o a book o samples, in i ing eade s o choose wha we would like nex ; eally, Whea ley should up his own mind as o how o p oceed om he e. A he same he e is a e ospec i e quali y o his book, because eading is like eading De ek Mahon - he Mahon o he1970s and 980s. He haschosen his model well; a guably, hecould no ha e chosen be e . Whea ley w i es well; when he can b ing he o mal dex e i y ully in line wi h his own ma e ial, as he showssignso doingin a ,umbe o he poems he e, such as " Visi ing Hou s " , " Alba " and his ende ing o Baudelai e's " Spleen " , he will be a conside able poe . Man Made o Rain is a hank - o e ing o su i al, and a poem ou o compulsion. B endan Kennelly is known as a poe o xube ance and excess, and has made his epu a ion la e ly wi h The o Judas and The Man Made is e y di e en . I is a poem in 43 o 44 pa s ( he las is unnumbe ed), gi ing an accoun expe ience o eco e y om a quad uple hea bypass. Iisguide h ough he eco e y - and wea e ounde s and his eco e y being mo e han simply a physicaland medical one - isa isiona y ompanion, a man made o ain. In an in oduc ion clea ing he space his poem, insis s on he p esenceo his igu e, and a gues his accep ance in oou ange o language and expe ience. As a poe ic de ice - hink o Dan e's Be yman's M Bones, in I ish poe y - i se es well enough. Fo howe e , is mo e han a poe ic expedien ; one ge s he sense o his c ea ing o a necessa y angel o b ing him back in he di ec ion o he a icula li e he had li ed be o e he immense expe ience o he pe a ion.Asa esul , isapoe yo he apyand ehabili a ion.When is good, he eade eels a li le like Cole idge's wedding gues being by he ancien ma ine , and compelled o a end. And, would ha e us unde s and, his is he so o compulsion he imsel expe ienced be o e he man made o ain. 'When you walk h ough my ongue you' e in a land o no language,' hesaid. He openshis mou h, I walk in, I wande h ough he ongue o ain. I don' expec o mee such innocence again, innocence ha is, as I unde s ood i hen. WSH UNIVERSITY As wi h somucho wo k, he poe y is une en. Bu his ne e had, o e en aspi ed o, he gen eel and well - c a ed e enness he inished p oduc . A eade soon lea ns o eac o a poo sec ion saying " Ne e mind, he e should be a be e one along ina hi d collec ion, y He oes, is e y asbe o e.He poems ind i ha d o esis na a i e, asi shebelie es essenceo he poe y lies in he eco ding o wha once happened; a esomeopening lines, om di e en The i s ime I saw sun lowe s. In he New Yea , we d o e away. Sadie's b o he was a p ies in Hong Kong. The awkwa dly named " Unlegenda y He oes " is a collec ion o beginnings modelled on a olklo esu ey o 1938. his mining ma e ial simila o ha which has been used he namesake Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill, bu whe e Dhomhnaill is a ac ed o ma ellous in he olk ales, wha o e s is he inciden al d y eco d o li escaugh in woo h eelines. He in en ion esides in whe e he o iginal ma e ial seems o ha e eco ded only men, insc ibes women in o he landscape: Ma i a Foxhole, whosespongecakes won Fi s P ize a CloncawShow. Miss Ha pe ,Co ley, emale p oblems a ely ceased, pleasan in ill - heal h. Pa icia Cu ley, Co le , whose join s ached and swelled hough she was young, who bo e h ee child en. The cumula i e lis o i een such en ies wo ks, in so a as i makesa poin , bu does i make a poem?Pe haps i amoun s o " Fi eenWays o Looking a a Landscape " . Elsewhe e he e is ano he clus e o sho poems: en haikus, an ill - ad ised o m o hey nea ly always end up as no es o poems a he han he eal hing. Gi en he achie emen o Ma y in he ea lie collec ions, Reading he in Sep embe and Thi d A enue Rhapsody, she appea s o be only o be ma king ime in his book. The eals eng ho hiscollec ionis o be ound in i s inal ew poems,among hem h ee abou Emilia, Duchess o Leins e in he eigh een h cen u y, oneen i led " Bees and Sain and " TheBog - Wi ch's Daugh e , One Summe " . These a e w i en wi h some powe , wi hou he sel - consciousness which cha ac e ises oo many o he o he poems. Mo e like hese, please. PETER