John Berryman despre ”cei mai iubiți dintre morți”

(John Berryman, cu un an sau doi înainte de sinucidere)



Ar fi trebuit să fie motoul Frânghiei înflorite, dar până la urmă a fost înlocuit de un pasaj din Faptele Apostolilor (fiindcă Dumnezeu e totuși un scriitor mai bun decât Berryman :) ).

(E din interviul luat de John Plotz.)

BERRYMAN: Well, being a poet is a funny kind of jazz. It doesn’t get you anything. It doesn’t get you any money, or not much, and it doesn’t get you any prestige, or not much. It’s just something you do.

INTERVIEWER: Why?

BERRYMAN: That’s a tough question. I’ll tell you a real answer, I’m taking your question seriously, This comes from Hamann, quoted by Kierkegaard. There are two voices, and the first voice says, “Write!” and the second voice says, “For whom?” I think that’s marvelous; he doesn’t question the imperative, you see that. And the first voice says, “For the dead whom thou didst love”; again the second voice doesn’t question it; instead it says, “Will they read me?” And the first voice says, “Aye, for they return as posterity.” Isn’t that good?