Dream Song: The Life of John Berryman

His father, cuckolded and bankrupt, shot himself under his son's bedroom window.His mother, who could maybe spell the word "No," married the paramour.The paramour adopted the boy. He went from being John Allyn Smith to John Berryman. The kid had his identity taken away before he was in his teens. "John Berryman" was one of the great literary fictions of the 20th century. There WAS no John Berryman--there was someone using that name and forever in search of an identity born in pain and betrayal.It led him to womanizing...not at all curious given his stepfather's and his mother's histories...to an hysterical disposition...and ultimately--or really for years--into incipient and then full-blown alcoholism.Berryman jumped off that bridge on January 7, 1972, but he died of drinking. He'd been through detoxes and rehabs but he could never figure out how to stay sober. The compulsion was too strong. Ultimately, I suspect, it was his weapon of choice in a lifelong suicide attempt. The bridge simply ended the quest.Mariani's book isn't just worth having, it's indispensible to understanding Berryman's work: unless you're one of those New Critical purists (are there any left?) who exclude biography from the study of literary production. There isn't much to say about it except it never bores the reader. Alcoholics are notoriously boring and dull people who repeat the same asininities over and over, but Mariani draws us into Berryman's inner life and shows us as well the effect he had on the people around him. It was not always negative...but when it was, it was appalling.He also, by the way, shows us a great and difficult poet, not just a horse's ass with a gift for getting into trouble. Mariani's description of how Berryman composed "Homage to Mistress Bradstreet" is worth the price of the ticket.

I didn't know much about John Berryman despite being an English major in college. However, I ran across a magazine article about Paul Mariani and the series of biogrphies he wrote on American poets. It intrigued me enough to pick up Dream Song. All I can say is "WOW!!" Mariani brings Berryman to life and what a life Berryman had. Yes, Berryman was self destructive but he was also brilliant. Mariani tells the story in such a poignant way that I found myself looking forward each night to the time I could spend reading this book. If you like biographies, especially literary biographies, then treat yourself to this book. You might also read Mariani's other books. I read his book about Robert Lowell and that was well done. However, Berryman is my favorite of the two.

A good recount of all the pain (much of it self-induced) Berryman went through to be able to find the voice that emerged in the Dream Songs. His childhood, parents, education, heroes, friends, addictions...all of them given appropriate weight in this biography. If you like his poetry, you'll like this book.