In Two Worlds of Charlie F I hope to find some understanding into a soldier's thought process and choices. As I read, I come to figure out why someone would join the military. Call it brainwash, call it great writing. I think this book is brilliant from that aspect. It gives you the boundaries, the stories and where society fails veterans before they even get discharged from the military. Sometimes.
I don't like wars but when my friend @lucindasieger told me about veterans doing art I thought this must be worth a bit of my time. I found this book at a stand at the hospital where my good friend curated and presented work of veterans. A lady had books and paintings on her table. I fell for this one. I don't know why. I read the play about Charlie and his friends in a few days. There was a hand drawn picture, printed on post cards that kept catching my eye. I was not sure what it was until the lady saw me going back to it. "It's "The Greek." "The Greek? What do you mean?" "It's from a statue. A Greek statue." "I'm getting the book about Charlie. How much is it?" "All books are 3 pounds." I flicked through. Trying to read but all the sounds and noises around me distracted me. "All the books are plays." "No poetry?" "Don't think so." The blue skies is what stuck with me. The symbolism of it and the beauty it brings. It's so well written and shows the humane said of soldiers, their fragile balance between madness and war, kindness and loss. Their experiences of pink mist, heat waves from explosions and the indefinite pain of amputations. The streets that merge with dreams and nightmares to run off with sand and grit and being left with something you didn't know you signed up for. But a dream is a dream and no one can take that away.
One of the best reads this year. Find it, buy it borrow it but whatever you do, make sure you read it. The exhibition The Seeds of Hope runs 9:00am to 5:00pm Monday-Friday from now until Thursday 26 September 2024. The Arts Project at St Pancras Hospital Conference Centre has artwork, paintings, photographs and installations all made by veterans. For further information, please refer to: https://londonveteranservice.nhs.uk/ and https://www.soldiersartsacademy.org/ and https://www.theartsprojectlondon.com/ The presentation of the artists themselves was for me the big take away. To hear poetry, stories and talk to the veterans made me realise we are all searching for the same things. We all have so many things in common but some of us choose a different path to get there. Art and creative endeavours are what bring peace, harmony and resolution at the end of the search until they open us for new adventures.