L'aura del Campo

John Berryman ...and dreams...

Other writers say...

I am reading Poets in Their Youth a memoir by Eileen Simpson. She writes about the poets of the 40s and 50s, specifically about her husband, John Berryman (1914-1972). He threw himself off Minneapolis' famous Washington Avenue Bridge at age 57.

John Berryman: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Berryman

The Bridge: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Avenue_Bridge_(Minneapolis)

"Dream Song 29" read by a drunk John Berryman in Dublin, 1967.



AmidaTong, not drunk, reads Berryman's "Dream Song 159":



Thou:

Snow storms and bitter cold are affecting many WdC folks this week. That means misery... and misery leads to stories. I strongly suggest that you do not go out to have the experience of getting caught in a drift. Rather, that you stay at home and interview someone who wasn't as wise as you were! Then write a story based on what they tell you.

In response to an entry by VOTE:ObamaDramaOverIn2012:D : Amusing... I'm trying to stay away from politics, but find I can't. In times of change it is wise to look where one is going and protect one's back.

In response to "Invalid Entry"  by Come Fly with Me--Kiter (edited): No... we do not learn lessons when we get them all wrong. These days of hurt are more about 'who won' and the fear they provoked than the cultural reasons that led to them. Growing up, I don't remember learning why the Japanese would attack nor did I know about our internment camps till much later.

Even now do we ever ask why the Taliban act the way they do? It's more than a game of who has the bigger gun. But no one asks the questions and therefore the answers are irrelevant and solutions defy us.

God is okay, has survived worse.

But will we?

Me and Mine:

Cold. I haven't had to turn on the heat in my place as the rooms on either side and below keep me from freezing, but this sub-zero weather makes it cool in here at times. Yes, I can get it turned on, but controlling it is difficult. I'd love to have one of those oil-filled space heaters that look like radiators. They work very nicely in smaller places.

We had ¼ inch of flaky foam Wednesday morning. It has not been above freezing since 4 p.m. on December 1st. Our highs and lows: 7th 7º/-7º; 8th 6º/-11º; 9th 7º/-9º. We hope to hit double digits today with a possibility of breaking the ice Sunday or Monday. Wednesday may even be "warm", but that's too far ahead to think about.

So I went to the bakery to buy a baguette, went to Bernice's for coffee. Have not crossed the bridge since Friday or Saturday. It's just too cold. It's actually warmed up; around 9 p.m. it was -4º

Montana: -1º and calm in downtown Missoula at midnight.

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