Putting this out there for posterity: I don’t register lyrics at all. Yes, I’m the kind of person who thought Pumped Up Kicks by Foster The People was a cool song till someone pointed out what the lyrics hinted. I will still hold on to say that it does sound cool and that’s all that matters to me. Instrumental music FTW. I guess, quite similarly, poetry doesn’t work for me either. I’ve made multiple half-hearted attempts over the years but either I don’t possess the natural chops for appreciation of this ‘finer art” or maybe it’s not my thing at all. Some things just aren’t, guys.
I guess the whole point of reinvigorating my reading was to explore the unknown and be a tad bit experimental to see where it goes. So here we are: I got my hands on 77 Dream Songs by John Berryman. Each written in three sections of six-line stanzas, this work won Berryman the Pulitzer (no pressure on me then, I guess). Another famed poet Robert Lowell, who won the Pulitzer too, spoke about Dream Songs as a takeback to the days of poetry that is considered “difficult”. The work has a protagonist, Henry, a lot of whose characteristics are built on the basis of Berryman’s life but the latter stresses that is not him completely. Henry’s opinions – political, religious, or socio-economic – are his own and may not truly be so as these are are supposedly thoughts that weave around his dreams and nightmares. 77 Dream Songs has no extended plot but acts as a cohesive narrative about the protagonist, Henry, as he weaves through social commentary. Occasionally, we come across conversations with Mr. Bones, a supposed friend of Henry’s but as Lowell later clarified is Henry himself, jabbing back at the author. There are several nods to real-life occurrences with mentions of Ben-Hur, the monk who immolated himself, Oppenheimer, Sealdah station (of all the places), Kierkegaard, the Kremlin, etc.
The Read: I don’t think I’m naturally primed to read poems. They demand every single ounce of your attention, require you to absorb and reflect in a manner that I’m far away from yet. However, amidst the two attempts, I made to conquer the summit, (yes I read Dream Songs twice), I’m happy to report some of it did stay back with me. Some of the lines sprinkled amongst the weird exposition are absolute beauties. Partake of some:
(#26)
I had a most marvelous piece of luck. I died.
Of 1826, which is #22 was the pick of the lot for me. But beyond the occasional cognizance of what was being spoken about, frankly, I was all at sea. I would like to award myself some points for the effort, but the quest to reinvigorate this kind of reading will continue, dream songs, or otherwise.
Trivia: #73 refers to the Ryoan-ji garden, which is considered one of the finest surviving examples of kare-sansui (“dry landscape”), a refined type of Japanese Zen temple garden design generally featuring distinctive larger rock formations arranged amidst a sweep of smooth pebbles (small, carefully selected polished river rocks) raked into linear patterns that facilitate meditation. Look quite serene these, they do. (References: 1, 2)
Documentation:
Book: 77 Dream Songs
Author: John Berryman
Year of Release: 1964
Publisher: Faber Faber