Dark Airs: John Berryman and the Spiritual Politics of Cold War American Poetry

In discussions of American poetry since World War II, the work of John Berryman has become increasingly neglected and marginalized. Critics have overwhelmingly chosen to favour the notion that he is an academic, ‘establishment’ poet whose career can comfortably be described as a move from New Critical traditionalism towards self-absorbed confessionalism. This study shows how such a narrow understanding of Berryman’s work is reflective of a broader critical inclination towards a codification...