Description
Book SynopsisKnown for his art criticism, as the editor of Frank O’Hara’s In Memory of My Feelings, and for his collaborative work with artists like Alex Katz and Philip Guston. Bill Berkson is well-loved by a wide swath of the arts community and this collection is eagerly anticipated. The definitive work from the most overlooked member of the New York School, this should finally place Bill Berkson next to John Ashbery and Ron Padgett in reader’s minds. It will also be an eye-opener for fans of the more language-oriented West Coast poetics pioneered by poets like Ron Silliman and Lyn Hejinian
Trade Review“Wonderful. . . . Fifty years of slow-dawning epiphany.” —San Francisco Bay Guardian “This is a generous selection of work by an important poet of the New York School. Known for his relationship to the art world, Bill Berkson writes a critically astute, witty (`no rest for liquidity’), and lyrically present poetry. The push of his work is upward (buoyancy and spirit) and outward into the real . . . But the purely poetic, as seen in his wonderful translation of Heine (`Selfsame source of all love’s flows— / Lily, dove, sun and rose’) is also present, with its binding force and knowing glance.” —Paul Hoover “I’d like to thank Bill Berkson for: epitomizing objectivity & subjectivity; amusedly living in the cerulean blue, alizarin crimson mixed with titanium white, & burnt sienna world we’ve got; & writing for us.” —Bernadette Mayer "Portrait and Dream is a rich collection, spanning fifty years of work. The only way to do it justice is to read and re-read it. It's a fine book."—Galatea Resurrects "What remains engaging in all of Berkson's writing is how each poem and how every essay continues to be so distinctively and affectionately rendered."—Jacket2, interview with Berkson
Wonderful. . . . Fifty years of slow-dawning epiphany.” San Francisco Bay Guardian This is a generous selection of work by an important poet of the New York School. Known for his relationship to the art world, Bill Berkson writes a critically astute, witty (no rest for liquidity’), and lyrically present poetry. The push of his work is upward (buoyancy and spirit) and outward into the real . . . But the purely poetic, as seen in his wonderful translation of Heine (Selfsame source of all love’s flows / Lily, dove, sun and rose’) is also present, with its binding force and knowing glance.” Paul Hoover I’d like to thank Bill Berkson for: epitomizing objectivity & subjectivity; amusedly living in the cerulean blue, alizarin crimson mixed with titanium white, & burnt sienna world we’ve got; & writing for us.” Bernadette Mayer "Portrait and Dream is a rich collection, spanning fifty years of work. The only way to do it justice is to read and re-read it. It's a fine book."Galatea Resurrects "What remains engaging in all of Berkson's writing is how each poem and how every essay continues to be so distinctively and affectionately rendered."Jacket2, interview with Berkson
