$29.99 when purchased online
Target Online store #3991
About this item
Highlights
- Released in paperback in 1999 by the now-defunct Open City and praised everywhere in the then-ascendant print press industry (including names that still make waves today like The New Yorker and GQ), David Berman's first (and only) book of poetry was and is a journey though shared and unreliable memory.
- About the Author: David Berman is a poet, singer-songwriter, and the former member of the indie-rock band, Silver Jews.
- 112 Pages
- Poetry, American
Description
Book Synopsis
Released in paperback in 1999 by the now-defunct Open City and praised everywhere in the then-ascendant print press industry (including names that still make waves today like The New Yorker and GQ), David Berman's first (and only) book of poetry was and is a journey though shared and unreliable memory. Uncannily inspired, Berman's poems walk through doors into rooms where where one might hear "I can't remember being born / and no one else can either / even the doctor who I met years later / at a cocktail party" (from "Self-Portrait at 28"), or praise "the interval called hangover / a sadness not co-terminous with hopelessness" (from "Cassette Country") and "that moment when you take off your sunglasses / after a long drive and realize it's earlier / and lighter out than you had accounted for" ("The Charm of 5:30"). At that time, Berman was called a modern-day Wallace Stevens and a next-wave John Ashberry, with his own logic, awareness of pop culture and sensitivity to the details of the post-postmodern world in his poems. Alongside his lyrics to a half-dozen infamous Silver Jews records, Actual Air endeared Berman to lovers of poetry, prose, and music alike. Poet James Tate said it best: "It is a book for everyone." And poet laureate Billy Collins could only add, "This is the voice I've waited so long to hear." The second edition of the hardcover version of Actual Air is limited to 1000 copies. Features of the second edition are: new larger dimensions and enlarged typeface, new dustjacket artwork variant, deluxe cloth boards, updated full-color endpapers, dust-jacket featuring a photo of the artist around the time of publication, and of course the poems that inspired all this fuss in the first place.Review Quotes
"Actual Air is one of the funniest, smartest, and sweetest books of the year, a collection of snapshots colored ecstatically outside the lines. This is the absurd American sublime, poetry that raises the stakes on the everyday and bluffs the blunders." --GQ
"[His poems] are full of complex turns and tricks and conceptual hijinks, and yet there's this surface clarity. You're welcomed into the poem." --Billy Collins
"Some of his book is Ashbery-influenced, while some stanzas recall the Americana of Thomas Lux . . . leagues beyond Jewell's A Night Without Armor, announcing the discovery of great American poetic storytelling by a new generation." --Publisher's Weekly
"Sophisticated yet accessible" --New York Times
"These poems are beautiful, strange, intelligent, and funny . . . It's a book for everyone." --James Tate
About the Author
David Berman is a poet, singer-songwriter, and the former member of the indie-rock band, Silver Jews. He lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.Dimensions (Overall): 8.1 Inches (H) x 6.2 Inches (W) x .4 Inches (D)
Weight: .6 Pounds
Suggested Age: 22 Years and Up
Number of Pages: 112
Genre: Poetry
Sub-Genre: American
Publisher: Drag City
Theme: General
Format: Hardcover
Author: David Berman
Language: English
Street Date: June 7, 2019
TCIN: 1003739559
UPC: 9780965618366
Item Number (DPCI): 247-13-6441
Origin: Made in the USA or Imported
If the item details above aren’t accurate or complete, we want to know about it.
Shipping details
Estimated ship dimensions: 0.4 inches length x 6.2 inches width x 8.1 inches height
Estimated ship weight: 0.6 pounds
We regret that this item cannot be shipped to PO Boxes.
This item cannot be shipped to the following locations: American Samoa (see also separate entry under AS), Guam (see also separate entry under GU), Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico (see also separate entry under PR), United States Minor Outlying Islands, Virgin Islands, U.S., APO/FPO
Return details
This item can be returned to any Target store or Target.com.
This item must be returned within 90 days of the date it was purchased in store, shipped, delivered by a Shipt shopper, or made ready for pickup.
See the return policy for complete information.