John Berryman

About

Confessional poet who is remembered for his 1969 work, The Dream Songs, which earned him a Pulitzer Prize. His other works include His Toy, His Dream, His Rest; The Dispossessed; and Delusions, Etc.

Before Fame

He was raised in Oklahoma and Florida by a banker father and a schoolteacher mother. When Berryman was twelve years old, his father committed suicide.

Trivia

He taught at Harvard, Princeton, and Brown, among other universities.

Family Life

He suffered from alcoholism and had three turbulent marriages. He killed himself in 1972 by jumping from a Minneapolis bridge.

Associated With

He wrote a biography of author Stephen Crane.