Snippets of life combine to create multiple subjects in poetry

David Berman: Poetry Reading

2005-2006 Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers…

David Berman: Poetry Reading

2005-2006 Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series

Tonight

Frick Fine Arts Building, Room 125

Free Admission

Silver Jews lead singer David Berman will share his poetry with the University of Pittsburgh this evening as a guest in the 2005-2006 Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series.

Berman will treat the audience to selections from his debut book of poetry “Actual Air.” Berman’s book is meant to showcase the moments in life that often remain unseen. One of the poems, “The Moon,” describes the events of a high school prom.

Berman writes, “Inside the car a young lady wears a corsage of bullet-sized rodents. Her date, the handsome cornerback, stretches his talons over the molded steering wheel.”

Berman picks images such as these, select moments from everyday life, which he combines to create many different story lines in one poem.

The poem “Snow,” also from “Actual Air,” tells an intriguing story of two brothers, the eldest telling his younger sibling a story about angels: “I pointed to a place where kids had made angels in the snow. For some reason, I told him that a troop of angels had been shot and dissolved when they hit the ground.”

Berman, who currently resides in Nashville, Tenn., is best known for his success as the lead singer/songwriter of indie-rock band The Silver Jews. The band formed in 1989 and has released a total of five albums; Tanglewood Numbers, the Jews’ most recent release, is an intriguing blend of roots-country, rock and folk music.

Berman’s reading will take place at 8:30 p.m. in Room 125 of the Frick Fine Arts Building. Admission is free and the reading is open to the public.

The Pittsburgh Contemporary Writers Series had a full house when it hosted Michael Ondaatje, author of “The English Patient,” on Nov. 10. Sandra Cisneros, Wanda Coleman and W.D. Snodgrass have also been guests in the series.