Second Life by Karl Tearney

Welcome to Halfman, Halfbook for my stop on the Blog Tour for Second Life by Karl Tearney and published by Fly on the Wall Press.

About the Book

As a newcomer to poetry and writing Karl has made quite an impact with his succinct and thought-provoking style. Encouraged by Emma Willis MBE after he’d sent her a thank you poem, Karl’s work has been coveted by many. His work has included appearances at festivals and readings around the country. He is hugely passionate about encouraging other sufferers of mental issues to look toward the Arts as a means of therapy.

About the Author

Karl Tearney enlisted into the British Army at 16 and dedicated 35 years of his life as a pilot in the Army Air Corps. He was medically retired in early 2016 and found great solace in writing and especially a new-found passion for poetry. The demand for his style of writing has led to National and local Television as well as Radio. In 2018, he was a panellist at the Hay literature festival, helped with a Poetry workshop at RADA and also exhibited some of his work at the ‘Art in the Aftermath’ Exhibition in Pall Mall.

My Review

There are stressful jobs and then there are jobs that are another level above that. Being in the army on operational service is one of those. Tearney was in the flying core in Northern Ireland and then Bosnia. On tour, he saw things that still haunt him even today. He had been coping, but it turns out it was just that he had been suppressing the pain within and after uncontrollable sobbing at work was admitted to hospital for treatment. It worked to a point, but it was only when he began to write, and write poems in particular that some of that internal tension began to release.  This collection is his first but it follows on from many appearances where he has shared his work with others.

This collection has been separated into three themed sections, My Mental Mind, Love and finally Moments. And they are raw and honest. Some poems are lighter in tone than others, and some are very bleak indeed as he confronts the demons within. He changes the pace of the poems, moving from a regular four-line pattern to others that are dense blocks of text to others that are a brief, but intense two-line cry. I liked the way that he has used language in his search for relief from his PTSD, and through that has helped himself and many others in one way or another.

Favourite Poems

The Tiny Door

Coffin

Coastal Path

Fog

Summer 1943

Don’t forget to visit the other blogs on the blog tour

Buy this at your local independent bookshop. If you’re not sure where your nearest is then you can find one here or direct from the publisher, here.

My thanks to Fly on the Wall Press and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for the copy of the book to read.