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Actual Air by David Berman
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Actual Air (original 1999; edition 1999)

by David Berman

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419759,561 (4.3)5
David Berman reinvents the overlooked and seemingly ordinary details of everyday life--from the suitcase of a departing girlfriend to a baseboard electrical outlet. His poems chart a course through his own highly original American dreamscape in language that is fresh, accessible, and remarkably precise. This debut collection has received extraordinary acclaim from readers and reviewers alike and is quickly becoming a cult classic. As Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Tate said, "These poems are beautiful, strange, intelligent, and funny. . . . It's a book for everyone."… (more)
Member:mycelph
Title:Actual Air
Authors:David Berman
Info:Grove Press, Open City Books (1999), Edition: 1, Paperback, 93 pages
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Actual Air by David Berman (1999)

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I bought this book at a Silver Jews show, signed by the author. A lot of stars align with this book - Berman gives thanks to Charles Wright, a favorite poet of mine, author of "Black Zodiac" and "The Appalachian Book of the Dead", and UVa professor. There are also hints of John Ashbery's surrealism here, and echoes of Silver Jews lyrics ("a cold black maple hanger"). Berman is a great poet only in the sense that he has an idiosyncratic voice that leads him along to make twisty observations. Berman's concern with the nature of faith and religion is prevalent, deconstructing the symbolism:

If Christ had died in a hallway we might pray in hallways
or wear little golden hallways around our necks

We, as a nation, must support artists like Berman who are taking risks with their writing and music; its not all brilliant, it doesn't all make sense, but he has survived poverty, drug addiction and academia to deliver us something real. ( )
  jonbrammer | Jul 1, 2023 |
A mix of really great poems and pretty good poems. Favorites are “Self-Portrait at 28,” “Imagining Defeat,” and “New York, New York.” ( )
  jammymammu | Jan 6, 2023 |
A necessary reread, several years after first reading. ( )
  Menshevixen | Oct 13, 2020 |
I couldn't get a handle on the course of Berman's poems. He challenged my expectations with each work in this piece, often conjuring mad visions with the consistency of the white whiskey bottle. At their best, the poems send the reader down a US highway that is made of familiar materials but the scenery feels completely foreign.
  b.masonjudy | Apr 3, 2020 |
Wish he'd publish another collection, but at least I'll have another few readings of this one before I can even say that I've tentatively digested it. Thanks much to B & L for the loan. Now I need to buy it for myself. ( )
  S.D. | Apr 4, 2014 |
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David Berman reinvents the overlooked and seemingly ordinary details of everyday life--from the suitcase of a departing girlfriend to a baseboard electrical outlet. His poems chart a course through his own highly original American dreamscape in language that is fresh, accessible, and remarkably precise. This debut collection has received extraordinary acclaim from readers and reviewers alike and is quickly becoming a cult classic. As Pulitzer Prize-winning poet James Tate said, "These poems are beautiful, strange, intelligent, and funny. . . . It's a book for everyone."

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