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Amy Berkowitz

Goodreads Author

Website

http://amyberko.com/

Genre

Nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry

Member Since

March 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/amyberko

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Amy Berkowitz is the author of Gravitas (Éditions du Noroît / Total Joy, 2023) and Tender Points (Nightboat, 2019). Her writing and conversations have appeared in publications including BOMB, Bitch, The Believer, and Jewish Currents. She lives in San Francisco, where she’s working on a novel and a nonfiction thing.

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Amy Berkowitz's Blog

Gravitas is here!

My book Gravitas is coming out in a couple of weeks from Éditions du Noroît in Canada and Total Joy in the US.

Frank, conversational, and darkly funny, Gravitas examines the tendency of MFA programs to teach women that their lives aren’t worth writing about. These poems bear witness not only to alienation but also to the bittersweet joy of being forced to invent alternative ways of living and writ Read more of this blog post »

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Published on May 06, 2023 17:46 • Tags: gravitas, poetry

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Amy Berkowitz’s books

Average rating: 4.48 · 910 ratings · 134 reviews · 12 distinct works • Similar authors

	Tender Points 4.48 avg rating — 799 ratings — published 2015 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	POEMES DEEP by Amy Berkowitz (Goodreads Author), Daphné B. (Translator), Marie Frankland (Translator) 4.45 avg rating — 33 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Gravitas 4.71 avg rating — 28 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	It's night in San Francisco but it's sunny in Oakland by Otis Pig (Editor), Amy Berkowitz (Goodreads Author), Ted Rees really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2014	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Listen to Her Heart 4.64 avg rating — 11 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	LONELY TOAST 4.83 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2010	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Feeling is Mutual by Beth Divis, Amy Berkowitz (Goodreads Author), Emma Gorenberg 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2009	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Tender Points by Amy Berkowitz (June 20,2015) 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Listen to Her Heart 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Kingdom of the Ill by Amy Berkowitz (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Lioba Hirsch (Contributor), Lynn Hershman Leeson (Contributor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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A Silent Treatment

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Amy Berkowitz rated a book it was amazing A Silent Treatment by Jeannie Vanasco (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Amy Berkowitz rated a book it was amazing Hey Ho Let's Go: The Story of the Ramones by Everett True (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
This book is as full of heart AND full of chaos as the Ramones. It contains lots of interesting insights, tidbits, and interviews that answer questions I've wondered about for years — mostly things like how the group collaborated, what each member co ...more
Sep 09, 2025 01:16PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hey Ho Let's Go by Everett True. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hey Ho Let's Go by Everett True <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Amy Berkowitz is currently reading A Silent Treatment by Jeannie Vanasco (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Amy Berkowitz and 1 other person liked Kiralleta's review of Tender Points: "Моя подруга прислала мне эту книгу со своими пометками на полях и со словами «прочти, оставь свои заметки, и отправь мне книгу обратно». Так и вышло. Я прочла откровения Эми Берковиц и заметки моей подруги на полях, а также оставила свои впечатления " Read more of this review »
Mar 25, 2025 02:57PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tender Points by Amy Berkowitz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tender Points by Amy Berkowitz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Amy Berkowitz rated a book it was amazing Tender Points by Amy Berkowitz (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 01, 2024 12:30PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tender Points by Amy Berkowitz. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tender Points by Amy Berkowitz <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Amy Berkowitz rated a book it was amazing Tender Points by Amy Berkowitz (June 20,2015) by Amy Berkowitz (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
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Amy Berkowitz and 59 other people liked Pete's review of Kick the Latch: "help me find more books like this. i don't have any opinions or insights about the author or the subject. this is like the cure for autofiction. blank perfect empathy, but also with some filigrees of made up shit to make it double-perfect. seriously " Read more of this review »
Apr 07, 2024 06:27PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Amy Berkowitz and 396 other people liked Janelle's review of Big Swiss: "Why does Jen Beagin hate Asian people? From the novel’s outset, literally in the first chapter, Beagin includes casually racist comments about “ghost slaves” and “Japanese-y” bees while also making glib jokes about anorexia and suicide. I kept readin" Read more of this review »
Dec 25, 2023 12:43AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Big Swiss by Jen Beagin. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Big Swiss by Jen Beagin <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Amy's books…

Quotes by Amy Berkowitz (?)

“While a puzzle can be solved with just one or two missing pieces, pain is
much more complicated, and talking about pain, especially chronic pain,
as if it has an easy answer can be irresponsibly deceptive.

Morris suggests that by understanding pain as a mystery, we can respect its complexity and recognize the alienating experience of living in pain. “Mysteries,” he writes, “introduce us to unusual states of being… mysteries disturb the world we take for granted.”
― Amy Berkowitz, Tender Points

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“While a puzzle can be solved with just one or two missing pieces, pain is much more complicated, and talking about pain, especially chronic pain, as if it has an easy answer can be irresponsibly deceptive. Morris suggests that by understanding pain as a mystery, we can respect its complexity and recognize the alienating experience of living in pain. “Mysteries,” he writes, “introduce us to unusual states of being… mysteries disturb the world we take for granted.”
― Amy Berkowitz, Tender Points

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Goodreads Librarians Group — 301459 members — last activity 2 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more

Punk Hostage Press — 374 members — last activity Feb 19, 2020 09:45AM
Punk Hostage Press is a not-for-profit book publishing imprint that also acts as a an outreach program to connect writers and contemporary literature ...more

Words As Works — 135 members — last activity Sep 03, 2016 02:09PM
Words As Works With this non-profit venture we hope to coordinate with other publishers, authors, editors, promoters, journalists and further our ef Words As Works With this non-profit venture we hope to coordinate with other publishers, authors, editors, promoters, journalists and further our efforts to build a community with those who are also doing similar works. We also want to connect with more programs in schools, juvenile literacy programs, inpatient treatment centers, mental health facilities, detoxification units, homeless/housing shelters & programs, women's shelters, social service providers, city and county jails, state and federal prisons, halfway houses, outpatient programs, librarians, teachers, counselors, case managers, curriculum builders, creative writing programs for at risk youth or adult services. We are aware of many who are already engaged in this work and we want to reach and become connected to many more in order to grow a network for ourselves and for others to use freely in order to expand the reach of contemporary literature and enlarge its usefulness for those who benefit the most from this support. This effort comes from the heart and is founded in our personal experiences with literacy, books and literature being very strong guiding points on the road to recovery and rehabilitation as well as getting a better start in life for at risk youth. We hope to disseminate books from independent publishers and to set up and conduct readings with the authors that wrote these books in order to give not only the gift of the books themselves, but the personal interaction with the writers and publishers who produce the books. A future goal would be to conduct creative writing groups and hopefully allow participants to empower themselves into self-expression and learning their own creative process that is supported by their peers. Also, to encourage publishing opportunities for the works of these participants in chapbooks, anthologies and even support the beginning of publishing concerns that would become the participants own within these programs or outside of the support structure provided by Words As Works. ...more

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