Midcentury

"I can't begin to say what brought me here, " confesses the narrator of Mid-century, an American lexicographer, down on his luck, who turns to Ireland in hopes of finding solace in the landscape and a respite in Ireland's wartime neutrality. Seeking definitions in a culture which resists them, he discovers in Irish history a refraction of his fortunes and obsessions. Mid-century tells an engrossing story of defeat and recovery, of devastation and spiritual renewal. Earlier versions of some of these poems first appeared in Sewane Review, Seneca Review, and Chelsea.