John Berryman

Author profile

born

October 25, 1914 in McAlester, Oklahoma, The United States

died

January 07, 1972

gender

male

genre

Poetry

influences

Yeats

About this author

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John Allyn Berryman (originally John Allyn Smith) was an American poet, born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and often considered one of the founders of the Confessional school of poetry. He was the author of The Dream Songs, which are playful, witty, and morbid. Berryman committed suicide in 1972.

A pamphlet entitled Poems was published in 1942 and his first proper book, The Dispossessed, appeared six years later. Of his youthful self he said, 'I didn't want to be like Yeats; I wanted to be Yeats.' His first major work, in which he began to develop his own unique style of writing, was Homage to Mistress Bradstreet, which appeared in Partisan Review in 1953 and was publi...more John Allyn Berryman (originally John Allyn Smith) was an American poet, born in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was a major figure in American poetry in the second half of the 20th century and often considered one of the founders of the Confessional school of poetry. He was the author of The Dream Songs, which are playful, witty, and morbid. Berryman committed suicide in 1972.

A pamphlet entitled Poems was published in 1942 and his first proper book, The Dispossessed, appeared six years later. Of his youthful self he said, 'I didn't want to be like Yeats; I wanted to be Yeats.' His first major work, in which he began to develop his own unique style of writing, was Homage to Mistress Bradstreet, which appeared in Partisan Review in 1953 and was published as a book in 1956. Another pamphle.

His thought made pockets & the plane buckt, followed. It was the collection called Dream Songs that earned him the most admiration. The first volume, entitled 77 Dream Songs, was published in 1964 and won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry. The second volume, entitled His Toy, His Dream, His Rest, appeared in 1968.

The two volumes were combined as The Dream Songs in 1969. By that time Berryman, though not a "popular" poet, was well established as an important force in the literary world, and he was widely read among his contemporaries. In 1970 he published the drastically different Love & Fame. It received many negative reviews, along with a little praise, most notably from Saul Bellow and John Bailey. Despite its negative reception, its colloquial style and sexual forthrightness have influenced many younger poets, especially from Britain and Ireland. Delusions Etc., his bleak final collection, which he prepared for printing but did not live to see appear, continues in a similar vein. Another book of poems, Henry's Fate, culled from Berryman's manuscripts, appeared posthumously, as did a book of essays, The Freedom of the Poet, and some drafts of a novel, Recovery.

The poems that form Dream Songs involve a character who is by turns the narrator and the person addressed by a narrator. Because readers assumed that these voices were the poet speaking directly of himself, Berryman's poetry was considered part of the Confessional poetry movement. Berryman, however, scorned the idea that he was a Confessional poet.(less)

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Books by John Berryman

Average rating: 4.21 · 4,083 ratings · 307 reviews · 47 distinct works

	The Dream Songs by John Berryman, W.S. Merwin (Introduction) 4.31 avg rating — 1,914 ratings — published 1969 — 6 editions	My rating:
	77 Dream Songs 4.31 avg rating — 194 ratings — published 1964 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Collected Poems, 1937-1971 4.33 avg rating — 128 ratings — published 1989 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Homage of Mistress Bradstreet 3.93 avg rating — 74 ratings — published 1956	My rating:
	Selected Poems by John Berryman, Kevin Young (Editor) 4.34 avg rating — 44 ratings — published 2004	My rating:
	Recovery by John Berryman, Saul Bellow (Foreword by), Philip Levine (Foreword by) 3.23 avg rating — 52 ratings — published 1973 — 5 editions	My rating:
	Love & Fame 3.77 avg rating — 39 ratings — published 1970 — 3 editions	My rating:
	Berryman's Sonnets 4.19 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 1967	My rating:
	His Toy, His Dream, His Rest: 308 Dream Songs 4.41 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 1968 — 2 editions	My rating:
	Henry's Fate and Other Poems, 1967-1972 4.15 avg rating — 13 ratings — 2 editions	My rating:

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Quotes by John Berryman

“I am so wise I had my mouth sewn shut.”
― John Berryman

tags: wisdom

44 people liked it

“You should always be trying to write a poem you are unable to write, a poem you lack the technique, the language, the courage to achieve. Otherwise you're merely imitating yourself, going nowhere, because that's always easiest.”
― John Berryman

tags: poetry , writing

35 people liked it

“Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.
After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns,
we ourselves flash and yearn”
― John Berryman, The Dream Songs

12 people liked it

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John Berryman

Author profile

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Quotes by John Berryman

Topics Mentioning This Author

combine editions
Books by John Berryman