Under the Wings

Laurence Steven is Chairman of the English Department at Laurentian
University and author of Dissociation and Wholeness in Patrick White’s
Fiction.

Under the Wings recounts the experiences of World War II ground crews,
who were overseas for the war’s duration (as opposed to flight crews,
who could be reassigned after 30 missions). It focuses on the adventures
of Scriver’s father, Harry (who “tells” the stories), and other
aircraft ground crewmen—or “erks”—stationed in Britain. The
poems’ themes include loyalty to the group, exploits in pubs and with
women, pride in their “kites,” disgust for and distrust of officers,
and fear of—combined with respect for—“Kraut” pilots. The
collection is accompanied by fascinating photos of planes and crew
members; (one picture shows crew members dedicating the air force’s
1943 Christmas gift to Hitler: a 12,000-pound Tallboy bomb).

Anyone who has read Scriver’s hockey poems (All Star Poet! and More!
All Star Poet) knows that his strengths are humor and depicting the raw,
earthy camaraderie of men together. There is a combination of tall-tale
exaggeration, male bravado, and off-color guffaw in Scriver’s humor.
His poem about the application for permission to marry ends thus: “No,
kid, but you’re about a half hour late. / Some other guy’s got her
already!” Part of the story of LAC Green (“a little / greasy runt
about five foot one”) includes a letter from a woman who candidly
states, “I have known / LAC Green for the period / of three months
during which time / he had made both my daughter and myself /
pregnant.”

Scriver is a narrative poet. No titles are used to indicate poems; they
are episodes or vignettes in the longer adventure. His faithful
recording of the speech of aircraft crew and officers is quite effective
in portraying a poetic mood. His lack of punctuation reflects the way
people think, and the way some people speak. It encourages readers to
let their “poetry-reading” guard down, and enjoy.

The conclusion to the last poem is a perfect ending for this book:
“it happened / I went / I got back pretty well / in one piece //
that’s all.” This book is a breath of fresh air; we look forward to
more Scriver.