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John Berryman

John Berryman Quotes

Poet

John Berryman was an influential American poet known for his unique poetic style and profound personal experiences. His works often explore themes of self-identity, madness, and death, having a significant impact on 20th-century American poetry.

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Famous John Berryman Quotes

“Let me say this: please don’t try to solve all of life at once, will you? Maybe you won’t always be very young, as you say, but Christ you are going to be very young for some days to come, and weeks to come, and months to come, and certain years to come.”

Life And Living

Book:The Selected Letters of John Berryman

Source: The Selected Letters of John Berryman

“Love her he doesn't but the thought he puts into that young woman would launch a national product complete with TV spots & skywriting outlets in Bonn & Tokyo I mean it”

Author:John Berryman

“That baby has got to learn things including remaining erect & on deck & all, her study of herself must include no wings. She's sturdy, beautiful, & she will do, unless the universal homage turns her head as it might well do mine, hypnotized by the Little Baby...”

Book:The Dream Songs

Source: The Dream Songs

“I ask for a decree dooming my bitter enemies to laughter advanced against them.”

Book:The Dream Songs

Source: The Dream Songs

“Them lady poets must not marry, pal . . . It is a true error to marry with poets / or to be by them.”

Book:The Dream Songs

Source: The Dream Songs

“I think that what happens in my poetic work in the future will depend on my being knocked in the face, and thrown flat, and given cancer, and all kinds of other things short of senile dementia.”

Thinking Kind Happens Faces Given Depends Cancer All Kinds Thrown Flats Poetic Dementia Senile

Author:John Berryman

“I can offer you only: this world like a knife”

World I Can This World Offers Knives

Book:The Heart Is Strange: New Selected Poems

Source: The Heart Is Strange: New Selected Poems

“We must travel in the direction of our fear.”

Inspirational Motivational Running Fear Travel Funny Travel Overcoming Fear

Author:John Berryman

“The artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him. At that point, he's in business.”

Art Artist Worst Lucky Ordeals

Author:John Berryman

“I am so wise I had my mouth sewn shut.”

Life Wise Mouths

Book:The Dream Songs: Poems

Source: The Dream Songs: Poems

“Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so. After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns, we ourselves flash and yearn”

Sea Sky Boring Boredom Flash

Book:77 Dream Songs: Poems

Source: 77 Dream Songs: Poems

“You should always be trying to write a poem you are unable to write, a poem you lack the technique, the language, the courage to achieve. Otherwise you're merely imitating yourself, going nowhere, because that's always easiest.”

Should Writing Trying Language Achieve Technique Imitating

Author:John Berryman

“Them lady poets must not marry, pal.”

Book:His Toy, His Dream, His Rest

Source: His Toy, His Dream, His Rest

“I cry. Evil dissolves, & love, like foam; that love. Prattle of children powers me home, my heart claps like the swan's under a frenzy of who love me & who shine.”

Heart Children Home Evil Cry My Heart And Love Shining Swans Frenzy Foam

Author:John Berryman

“We have reason to be afraid. This is a terrible place.”

Reason Terrible

Author:John Berryman

“I conclude now I have no inner resources, because I am heavy bored. Peoples bore me, literature bores me, especially great literature.”

Literature Resources Heavy Bored Bores Great Literature

Book:77 Dream Songs: Poems

Source: 77 Dream Songs: Poems

“Two daiquiris withdrew into a corner of a gorgeous room and one told the other a lie.”

Two Lying Rooms Corners Gorgeous Daiquiris

Book:The Dream Songs: Poems

Source: The Dream Songs: Poems

“I do strongly feel that among the greatest pieces of luck for high achievement is ordeal. Certain great artists can make out without it, Titian and others, but mostly you need ordeal. My idea is this: the artist is extremely lucky who is presented with the worst possible ordeal which will not actually kill him. At that point, he's in business: Beethoven's deafness, Goya's deafness, Milton's blindness, that kind of thing.”

Needs Feels Kind Ideas Artist Certain Pieces Worst Lucky Achievement Luck Blindness Great Artist Make Out Milton Ordeals Deafness Goya

Author:John Berryman

“That is our ‘pointed task. Love & die.”

Book:77 Dream Songs: Poems

Source: 77 Dream Songs: Poems

“something has been said for sobriety but very little.”

Littles Has Beens Said Beer Sobriety

Book:77 Dream Songs: Poems

Source: 77 Dream Songs: Poems

“There is no such thing as Freedom (though it is the most important condition of human life, after Humility, -which does not exist either). There is only Slavery (walls around one) and absence-of-Slavery (ability to walk in any direction, or to remain still).”

Humans Doe Stills Important Ability Walks Conditions Humility Wall Slavery Absence Human Life

Author:John Berryman

“These Songs are not meant to be understood, you understand. They are only meant to terrify & comfort.”

Song Comfort Understood Meant To Be

Author:John Berryman

“Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so. After all, the sky flashes, the great sea yearns, we ourselves flash and yearn, and moreover my mother told me as a boy (repeatedly) 'Ever to confess you're bored means you have no inner Resources.' I conclude now I have no inner resources, because I am heavy bored.”

Mean Mother Boys Sea Sky Resources Heavy Boring Bored Flash

Author:John Berryman

“Ever to confess you're bored means you have no Inner Resources.”

Mean Resources Bored

Author:John Berryman

“So if I were talking to a young writer, I would recommend the cultivation of extreme indifference to both praise and blame because praise will lead you to vanity, and blame will lead you to self-pity, and both are bad for writers.”

Ifs Self Young Talking Praise Blame Extremes Pity Vanity Indifference Self Pity Cultivation Young Writers

Author:John Berryman

“Offering Dragons quarter is no good, they regrow all their parts and come on again. They have to be killed.”

Funny Smart Clever Dragons Quarters Offering

Author:John Berryman

“Literature bores me, especially great literature”

Literature Bores Great Literature

Book:77 Dream Songs: Poems

Source: 77 Dream Songs: Poems

“Wishin' was dyin' but I gotta make it all this way to that bed on these feet.”

Way Feet Bed Chaos

Book:The Dream Songs: Poems

Source: The Dream Songs: Poems

“We are using our own skins for wallpaper and we cannot win.”

Winning Skins Chaos

Book:77 Dream Songs: Poems

Source: 77 Dream Songs: Poems

“One must be ruthless with one's own writing or someone else will be.”

Writing Ruthless

Author:John Berryman

“Praise will lead you to vanity, and blame will lead you to self-pity, and both are bad for writers.”

Self Praise Blame Pity Vanity Self Pity

Author:John Berryman

“Life, friends, is boring. We must not say so.”

Author:John Berryman

“This world is gradually becoming a place Where I do not care to be any more.”

World Care This World Becoming Curmudgeon

Book:The Dream Songs: Poems

Source: The Dream Songs: Poems

“Bats have no bankers and they do not drink and cannot be arrested and pay no tax and, in general, bats have it made.”

Made Funny Poetry Song Pay Drink Taxes Drinking Bats Bankers Arrested

Author:John Berryman

“I didn't want to be like Yeats; I wanted to be Yeats.”

Want Writing Wanted Yeats

Author:John Berryman

About the Author

Born: October 25, 1914
Died: January 7, 1972
Known for: Poet
Quotes: 35

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Books & Sources

77 Dream Songs: PoemsRelated source material

The Dream Songs: PoemsRelated source material

The Dream SongsRelated source material

His Toy, His Dream, His RestRelated source material

The Heart Is Strange: New Selected PoemsRelated source material

The Selected Letters of John BerrymanRelated source material

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