John Berryman facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Berryman
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| Born | John Allyn Smith, Jr. October 25, 1914 McAlester, Oklahoma |
| Died | January 7, 1972 (aged 57) Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Occupation | Poet |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Period | 1942–1972 |
| Literary movement | Confessional poetry |
| Notable works | The Dream Songs |
| Notable awards | National Book Award, Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, Bollingen Prize |
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John Berryman (born John Allyn Smith, Jr.; October 25, 1914 – January 7, 1972) was an important American poet. He wrote many poems in the mid-1900s. He is known for a style called 'confessional poetry,' where poets share their personal feelings. His most famous work is a collection of poems called The Dream Songs.
Contents
Life and Career of John Berryman
Early Life and Education
John Berryman was born on October 25, 1914, in McAlester, Oklahoma. He lived there until he was ten years old. His father, John Smith, was a banker, and his mother, Martha, was a schoolteacher. When John was ten, his family moved to Florida.
Sadly, his father died when John was young. This event deeply affected Berryman throughout his life. He often wrote about his feelings and struggles with this loss in his poetry.
After his father's death, his mother remarried John Angus McAlpin Berryman. John's name was changed to John Allyn McAlpin Berryman. His mother also changed her first name to Jill. Even though his stepfather later divorced his mother, John remained friends with him.
John's mother sent him to South Kent School, a private boarding school in Connecticut. After that, he went to Columbia College. There, he was very active in student groups. He also studied with Mark Van Doren, a famous writer and teacher. Van Doren helped John become serious about writing poetry.
John also studied in England for two years at Clare College, Cambridge. He graduated in 1936.
Early Poetry and Recognition
In 1940, some of John Berryman's early poems were published in a book called Five Young American Poets. Another poet in the book was Randall Jarrell.
Berryman's first book of poems, simply titled Poems, came out in 1942. Six years later, he published The Dispossessed. Some critics, like Jarrell, felt that Berryman's early work sounded too much like the poet W. B. Yeats. Berryman later agreed, saying he wanted to be Yeats, not just like him.
In October 1942, Berryman married Eileen Mulligan (later Simpson). They lived in Boston, and Berryman taught at Harvard University. Their marriage ended in 1953. Eileen Simpson later wrote a book about her time with Berryman and his friends.
In 1947, Berryman started writing a long series of sonnets. He didn't publish them right away. He later released them in 1967 as Berryman's Sonnets, which included over one hundred poems.
Major Works and Awards
In 1950, Berryman published a biography of the writer Stephen Crane. This was followed by his important poem, Homage to Mistress Bradstreet, in 1956. This poem received a lot of attention and good reviews. A famous writer, Edmund Wilson, called it a very important long poem by an American.
Berryman's biggest success came with 77 Dream Songs in 1964. This book won the 1965 Pulitzer Prize for poetry. It made Berryman one of the most important poets of his time. He became very famous, and even the White House invited him to dinner.
In 1967, Life magazine wrote a story about him. He also received a large grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Berryman continued to write more "dream songs." In 1968, he published another, longer collection called His Toy, His Dream, His Rest. This book won the National Book Award for Poetry and the Bollingen Prize. The next year, he combined 77 Dream Songs and His Toy, His Dream, His Rest into one book, The Dream Songs. In these poems, a character named Henry acts as Berryman's other self.
In Love & Fame (1970), Berryman wrote more directly about his own life. His last collection, Delusions Etc. (1972), was published after he passed away. It focused on his religious beliefs.
Teaching Career
Berryman taught at several universities during his career. These included the University of Iowa, Harvard University, Princeton University, and the University of Minnesota. He spent most of his teaching career at the University of Minnesota.
He taught many students who later became famous poets themselves. Some of his students included W. D. Snodgrass and Philip Levine. Philip Levine once said that Berryman was "the best teacher that I ever had."
John Berryman's Poetry Style
Confessional Poetry
John Berryman's poetry is often called "confessional poetry." This means his poems often shared very personal details about his life and feelings. His friend Robert Lowell also wrote in a similar style.
Early in his career, Berryman was influenced by poets like W. B. Yeats and W. H. Auden. Over time, he developed his own unique voice.
Homage to Mistress Bradstreet
Berryman's first major work where he found his own style was Homage to Mistress Bradstreet. In this long poem, he writes to Anne Bradstreet, an American poet from the 1600s. He combined facts about her life with his own thoughts and feelings. This poem was difficult but was seen as a masterpiece.
The Dream Songs
Berryman's most important poetic breakthrough came with The Dream Songs. These poems are short, 18-line poems with three stanzas. They are written in free verse, meaning they don't always rhyme in a regular pattern.
The main character in The Dream Songs is named Henry. Henry is very much like Berryman, but Berryman wanted readers to know that Henry was a fictional character. He once said, "Henry does resemble me, and I resemble Henry; but on the other hand I am not Henry."
When 77 Dream Songs was reviewed, critics praised it. Robert Lowell said that after a while, the poems became "more and more enjoyable." Berryman himself joked in one of his "Dream Songs": "These Songs are not meant to be understood, you understand. / They are only meant to terrify & comfort."
The second volume, His Toy, His Dream, His Rest, included many poems remembering his poet friends who had passed away. It also covered other topics, like his trip to Ireland and his growing fame.
Later Works
Berryman's last two books of poetry were Love & Fame and Delusions, Etc.. These poems were written in free verse and were more direct than The Dream Songs. Some of his friends, like the novelist Saul Bellow, liked these poems. Love & Fame and Delusions, Etc. were even more openly "confessional." They also explored his spiritual journey.
After Berryman's death, a collection of his unpublished "dream songs" was released in 1977 called Henry's Fate & Other Poems. In 1989, his Collected Poems--1937-1971 was published.
In 2004, a book called John Berryman: Selected Poems was published. It included his most famous poems and also parts of his earlier and later works.
Many people believe that Berryman's poetry will continue to be important. It offers a clear and deep look into a complex person who was very much connected to the feelings and ideas of his time.
John Berryman in Popular Culture
- John Berryman's ghost appears as a character in Thomas Disch's 1984 novel The Businessman: A Tale of Terror.
- The band Okkervil River has a song called "John Allyn Smith Sails" on their 2007 album The Stage Names, which is about Berryman.
- Australian singer Nick Cave has said that Berryman's work influenced his 1992 album Henry's Dream. He also mentioned Berryman in his 2007 song "We Call Upon the Author."
- The band of Phish bassist Mike Gordon has performed "Dream Song 22-'Of 1826'". They released it on a live album called The Egg.
- The final episodes of the first three seasons of the TV show Succession are named after phrases from Berryman's "Dream Song 29." These titles are "Nobody Is Ever Missing", "This Is Not for Tears", and "All the Bells Say".
Images for kids
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Kipling Arms Apartments, where Berryman's family lived in Florida.
See also
In Spanish: John Berryman para niños
