In a Dybbuk's Raincoat: Collected Poems

by Bert Meyers

Pitzer College, Claremont, California, is the site of the historic Grove House built in 1902 and moved to the college's campus in the 1970s. Within Grove House is the Bert Meyers Poetry Room, named in honor of the author of this collection and former teacher at Pitzer. Bert Meyers wrote these poems between 1947 and 1979. Prior to his death at the age of fifty-one, Meyers determined what he considered his best work; following his death Meyers's widow and son added to the collection, all of which now appears in In a Dybbuk's Raincoat , introducing a new generation to Bert Meyers's poetry and songs. Morten Marcus, friend of Bert Meyers, was asked by Meyers's widow to work with her and Meyers's son, Daniel, to get In a Dybbuk's Raincoat into print.
"There are terrific things prose pieces entirely new to me, pungent paragraphs about Paris, lively comments on poetry, and several naughty words about Yeats. Once in a while, one encounters old classics, such as 'Picture Framing.' It's marvelous that Morton Marcus and Bert's son, Daniel, have brought out this book."--Robert Bly, author of My Sentence Was a Thousand Years of Joy

Genres: Poetry

295 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 2007

Reviews

[Merinde · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are a lot of stunning, evocative poems in here. Just beautiful use of language. Then there are a few oddly simple overly obvious rhyming ones I really wasn't a fan of. Such a shame. I mean, the contrast between this:
We were the rain last night.
Our smell still lingers
in the flower beds.
The white hills rise
like crumpled moons;

a swarm of insects
lights a lawn’s dull face.
We go to see ourselves
in puddles, you and I,
clear fragments of the flood.

and then this;

When you’re lonely what do you do
you paint the walls black and blue
and cry nobody cares for you
they’re all cracks the wind blows through
saints are selfish love’s a sham
it’s so damned hard who gives a damn
But it’s just bitterness
all the voices that you miss
the ones that gave you happiness
are inside you saying please

is huge. Maybe some people like both; I don't. It sounds like boyband lyrics or something I wrote at 17, and English is not my native language...but that might just be me. A lot of these poems are just really good and original and his work is definitely worth reading, though.

[Mike James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great and essential collection by one of the undiscovered geniuses of the second half of the 20th century.

[Randy Cauthen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great, great book. Anybody who loves lyric poetry should read it.