The Engine

Jamie McKendrick: Out There: Faber & Faber: 2012  Readers who like poetry and, more specifically, those who like the poetry of Jamie McKendrick won't be disappointed by this volume. Others seeking a more restless, engaged voice which seems to be reaching out to the reader and the world may need to look elsewhere. Its not the language that the author deploys or the esoteric knowledge and polyglot foreign languages that are all amassed with some panache that will disappoint because, in some superficial sense, Out There , is a pretty persuasive volume of poetry. The language is dense, thought-provoking and multiple layers of references cleverly arranged cannot detract from the author's efforts. The trouble with this book is the author's dearth of anything much to talk about. In a poem like Psychostasia which seems to meaningfully sum up the futile stasis of the poem, a cathedral of language replete with references to Christianity, Classical mythology and the Ancien...

THE GREAT WAR OBSERVED IN ITALY AND IRELAND: FROM THE SOMME TO THE PIAVE 1914 - 2014  Today, Sunday 2nd March 2014, there was a table tennis tournament in Meolo, a town half-way between here and Venice, so I set out on the bike about 1.30 but didn't arrive until just before 3pm even though Meolo is only about 15km from here. The tournament was already finished, in fact my club, San Dona, had already gone but it wasn't a problem because I had enjoyed the bike ride. I cycled on the road past Musile di Piave and then turned left towards the mountains which were visible even though it was a dull, overcast yet dry day. Yesterday had been incredibly wet, torrential downpours and I had to endure a good soaking on the way back from college. I turned left and cycled inland to Fossalta di Piave. At last I had found the town where Ernest Hemingway sustained his wounds. There wasn't much in Fossalta, just some houses, some basic services and a small railway station. The countryside a...