God is not a secret, and this is also a song

last night darren and i were chatting with a new grad student in his department who was destined to live in athens, though he's spent the last 15 years in massachussetts. he mentioned a band named the Silver Jews, which i vaguely recognized. my mind went slowing chugging back to a creative writing class i took several years ago at UGA. i said, "the lead singer's a poet", not actually recalling who the lead singer was. but the swedish-born massachusetts scholar knew: david berman.

if i've talked to you about contemporary poetry ever, i've talked to you about david berman's book Actual Air. i may have forced you to listen to some of the poems. it's incredible.

so this morning i was fondly remembering some of my favorite poems by david berman & thought i'd make a post about him.

Top Five Poems by David Berman:

1. Self-Portrait at 28
2. Imagining Defeat
3. Classic Water
4. New York, New York
5. Snow

i can't find a couple of them online...so i might post them here later.

anyway, here are some excerpts from Self-Portait at 28, in case i haven't convinced you yet that you should go read these poems. this one is a longer poem, but absolutely worth it (which is impressive since i tend to dislike long poems).

It is a certain hill
the one I imagine when I hear the word "hill"
and if the apocalypse turns out
to be a world-wide nervous breakdown
if our five billion minds collapse at once
well I'd call that a surprise ending
and this hill would still be beautiful
a place I wouldn't mind dying
alone or with you.
....
You see there is a window by my desk
I stare out when I am stuck
though the outdoors has rarely inspired me to write
and I don't know why I keep staring at it.
....
Today is the first day of Lent
and once again I'm not really sure what it is.
How many more years will I let pass
before I take the trouble to ask someone?
....
It's just that our advances are irrepressible.
Nowadays little kids can't even set up lemonade stands.
It makes people too self-conscious about the past,
though try explaining that to a kid.