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