Selected Poems, 1938-1968

by John Berryman Dec'd

Some months before his tragic death in January 1972, John Berryman completed this selection from the whole of his published poetry. He designed it to provide both an introduction to his work and a summary of his poetic career up to the publication of Love and Fame. It reveals clearly that Berryman was one of the most original and important poets of the twentieth century.

'His fineness is of a kind we no longer, alas, expect, scarcely even hope for; it is produced by sheer weight of his poetic intelligence and originality.' Al Alvarez

Genres: Poetry, American

96 pages, Paperback

First published November 6, 2014

Reviews

[Ben]

Are we? You murmur 'not.' What of the night
Attack on the dark road we could not contain,
Twice I slid to you sudden as the stain
Joy bloods the wanderer at the water's sight,
And back, but you writhed on me. . as I write.
I tremble. . trust me not to keep on sane
Until you whisper 'Come to me again'
Unless you whisper soon. O come we soon
Together dark and sack each other outright,
Doomed cities loose and thirsty as a dune. .
Lovers we are, whom now the on-tide licks.
Our fast of famed sleep stirs, darling, diurnal, --
Hurry! till we, beginning our eternal
Junket on the winds, wake like a ton of Styx.

[Eric Smith]

**** or maybe *****

It took me twenty-three months to read this short book, mostly it sat ignored on my night stand.

The first two thirds of the poems I found tedious, opaque, and highfalutin'—but at least they were short. Then came the "Dream Songs" and the books came to life, but still annoyed me, what with its Henry the writer guy and his blackface vaudeville sidekick. But I like vaudeville, so I stuck with it.

I'm glad I did. The last section struck me hard and I enjoyed all of the poems there.

Recommended, but with hesitation.

[Janette Schafer]

The collection provides a comprehensive overview of the poems of John Berryman and includes selections from each if his books of poetry. This would make an excellent textbook for a college course that sought to cover John Berryman and the confessional school of poetry. The introductory essay is scholarly and reverential.

[Brian]

A lot of these poems are difficult and hard to relate to. Overall, an interesting collection.

[Steven Severance]

It is quite unfortunate for the reader if a poet is both mentally ill and an alcoholic.

[Michael Vawser]

Reprint 1977

[Michael]

Good selection. "Homage to Mistress Bradstreet" is here, as well as some of the sonnets and final poems.