A poetic tribute to the Titanic
With the 100th anniversary this month of the sinking of the Titanic, there’s been no shortage of events, films and books observing the event worldwide. At the risk of threatening you with overload, please take the time to consider just one more volume. And don’t be confused by the title; The Watch that Ends the Night is not the awardwinning 1959 novel by Canada’s Hugh Maclennan.
This book is the work of North Carolina’s Allan Wolf and, despite what it says on the cover, is less a novel than an astounding collection of poetry (most of it free verse).
Wolf ’s text breathes new life into a story that is known far and wide.
Beginning with the voice of “John Snow, the undertaker” aboard the cable ship Mackay-bennett, 600 miles out of Halifax in the Atlantic Ocean on April 20, 1912, Wolf spins a mesmerizing account of the Titanic. In poems of varying lengths, he chronicles the preparations in Belfast and tells of the maiden voyage, the collision with the iceberg, and then the rescue of survivors and recovery of the dead through April 30, when John Snow leaves the dead behind “until tomorrow. / And I walk to the pub for a pint with the boys. / … And we drink to the children who will never be full grown. / And we drink to the travellers who never made it home.”
Having long been fascinated by the Titanic, and having read several books about it (children’s books and those aimed at adults), I have to say this one stands out from the pack. Not only is the poet’s approach unusual (he gives voice to the people involved with Titanic, but also to the iceberg – and to the rats on board ship), but his use of language and the cadence of his lines makes the 400-plus pages an engaging read. Complete with about 30 pages of author’s notes, Morse code messages, miscellaneous Titanic facts, and a detailed bibliography, the book sports a dramatic black-and-white cover illustration by Jon Klassen, who won the 2010 Governor General’s Award for children’s literature illustration. Ages 10 to 110. The Watch that Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic By Allan Wolf Candlewick Press, 467 pages, $25