This book, How Heavy the Breath of God, is one I return to again and again for its sense of being simultaneously away while also coming home to oneself. The poems are arranged in a travel sequence, starting in tropical locations such as Ecuador and Guatemala and ending up back in the southern U.S., in Texas. While not necessarily literal, the arrangement does feel logical. There’s an outward to inward arc to the work as a whole.
Here’s the third and final post in this series regarding Berryman’s 77 Dream Songs. You can find Part 1 (Craft) and Part 2 (Content Connections) in earlier posts.
Lots of links for further reading and listening, but I warn you that the topics of depression, alcoholism and suicide will come up. Again.
But first, my rant.
This is Part 2 of a 3 part series on Berryman’s Dream Songs. You can find Part 1 in an earlier post.
I was re-reading John Berryman’s 77 Dream Songs and finished my re-read on the 45th anniversary of Berryman’s death. That is a creepy coincidence which I didn’t see coming.
The craft and skill which John Berryman pours into his 77 Dream Songs is often overshadowed by the intensity of the content of which he writes. With that in mind, I am splitting my comments on 77 Dream Songs into a three post series.
According to my Goodreads account, my books read in 2016 total 148 against a target of 100. Hurray!
