Poets in Their Youth

The book is out of print so you'll have to get it from a library. Was recently reviewed in the Washington Post, as one of the books to reconsider and appreciate. Eileen Simpson (married to John Berryman) chronicles her marriage as well as those of the poets of the 70s and 80s. The book is incredibly moving and the way in which Ms. Simpson tells her vignettes is matter of fact yet sympathetic. She talks about Berryman's suicidal bent, the womanizing ways of Ted Roethke, the manic depression of Robert Lowell, and various other chemical conditions and maladies that beset poets. The larger argument that emerges is whether such artists, absent such conditions, could have succeeded as poets. Based on the sample here, suffering is a prerequisite for writing poetry. Eileen mentions some exceptions to the rule: William Carlos Williams, whose day job was practicing medicine. But those who didn't moonlight led a life of suffering, mainly because they were born wired and also because their main gig (writing poetry) required it.

This is a terrific memoir, and very kind, of some of the most important literary figures in the second half of the last century. I was in college when I discovered Berryman via the Dream Songs, and only later read his earlier poems and more about his complicated life. Simpson writes feelingly of the sunny days and dark nights of this literary circle, and is sympathetic to them both as artists and people. I found her final benediction on Berryman at the end to be extremely touching.

Illuminating account of life with a manic alcohol abuser and his obsession with being America's "number one" poet. Eilene Simpson writes well and tells it all.