Conversations with John Berryman

Conversations with John Berryman - Paperback

$54.00
$54.00
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Conversations with John Berryman
  • Conversations with John Berryman
Conversations with John Berryman - Paperback

Conversations with John Berryman - Paperback

by Eric Hoffman
$54.00
$54.00

Book Overview

by Eric Hoffman (Author)

The poetry of John Berryman (1914-1972) is primarily concerned with the self in response to the rapid social, political, sexual, racial, and technological transformations of the twentieth century, and their impact on the psyche and spirit, both individual and collective. He was just as likely to find inspiration in his local newspaper as he was from the poetry of Hopkins or Milton. In fact, in contrast to the popular perception of Berryman drunkenly composing strange, dreamlike, abstract, esoteric poems, Berryman was intensely aware of craft. His best work routinely utilizes a variety of rhetorical styles, shifting effortlessly from the lyric to the prosaic.

For Berryman, poetry was nothing less than a vocation, a mission, and a way of life. Though he desired fame, he acknowledged its relative unimportance when he stated that the "important thing is that your work is something no one else can do." As a result, Berryman very rarely granted interviews--"I teach and I write," he explained, "I'm not copy"--yet when he did the results were always captivating. Collected in Conversations with John Berryman are all of Berryman's major interviews, personality pieces, profiles, and local interest items, where interviewers attempt to unravel him, as both Berryman and his interlocutors struggle to find value in poetry in a fallen world.

Author Biography

Eric Hoffman is author of Oppen: A Narrative. He also coedited (with Dominick Grace) Dave Sim: Conversations; Chester Brown: Conversations; and Seth: Conversations, all published by University Press of Mississippi. He is author of several books of poetry, most recently This Thin Mean: New Selected Poems; Presence of Life; and Losses of Life.

Number of Pages: 212
Dimensions: 0.48 x 9 x 6 IN
Publication Date: February 12, 2021
ISBN9781496826336
Author Eric Hoffman
PublisherUniversity Press of Mississippi
GenreBiography and Literature
FormatPaperback
PublishedFebruary 2021
LanguageENG- English
Pages212
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography Literary Collections Literary Criticism Nonfiction Poetry

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