BOMBER COUNTY: THE POETRY OF A LOST PILOT’S WAR

“What we are doing on the beach is looking for the memory of a corpse. But there is no sense of him here for there is no sense of debt.”  Daniel Swift, Bomber County

Dear Reader,

I bought Bomber County because I’d read a review about it in The New York Times and couldn’t believe a book featuring poetry was getting this kind of press. Intrigued, I opened the book, eager to read poetry I wouldn’t have otherwise read. Well, I did read poetry, but not enough; I closed the book hungry for more. And that’s okay, because I will now look for the poetry of Wilfred Owen, Randall Jarrell, Cecil Day-Lewis, and others.

Swift uses poetry as an organization tool, but he doesn’t drown the text in poetry. But what’s there is easy-to-understand, and it talks about flying, death, and war.

I credit Swift’s poetic (concise) writing style as being the carrot that led me through his deeply researched and copious war details: dates; locales; WWII and WWI history; and information about flying, bombing, and the workings of aircraft I often say I learn history despite myself.) Readers interested in the Royal Air Force will not be disappointed.

“The cemeteries daydream of order.”  Daniel Swift

I wish Swift every success with his unusual and interesting book.