The Selected Letters of John Berryman

In this wide-ranging collection of John Berryman’s letters from 1925 to 1971, editors Coleman and McRae provide a revealing window into the poet’s mind and work through his own words. Early boarding school letters home to his family are touching (such as one to his younger brother signed “Your big buddy”), while those written early in his career arguing against the inclusion of women writers in an anthology are less charming. Nevertheless, Berryman obviously grew to respect many women writers, as evidenced, for one, by his fawning letters to Adrienne Rich after she wrote positively about his work, one of which ends with the schoolboy-ish “I never wrote to a reviewer before; I hope you won’t mind.” Also notable is Berryman’s missive to Robert Lowell about Dylan Thomas’s death, which obviously affected him deeply. Toward the end of the collection (and Berryman’s life), the poet offers some affecting and amusing advice to his son Paul, newly arrived at college: “When you have established a reputation for ordinariness, then it will be quite soon enough to reveal that you’re not—to friends.” While the collection is so comprehensive only Berryman’s ardent fans will read it cover to cover, it is well worth the serious attention of any literary scholar. (Oct.)