Rumpus Notes on Notes from Irrelevance

A review of Anselm Berrigan's Notes from Irrelevance (Wave Books 2011) has just popped up on The Rumpus, and with it comes a most accurate remark, that the poet himself as well as his publisher certainly "don’t hide his pedigree as the son of poets Ted Berrigan and Alice Notley." It's a relatively new turn for Berrigan, to disclose so much of his personal history in his poetry. Barbara Berman looks at the work as a "demanding, rewarding ride." She also writes:

Notes From Irrelevance is a long weave of sentence shimmers with influences of someone who has read and absorbed a rich range, from classics to the most experimental, making each phrasing kinetic with questions about the way he has experienced sound and the sight of letters. It’s a fascinating exercise, suggesting, in addition to parentage, Naropa, and less obviously, Imagists. It’s a book that should probably be read aloud in one sitting, with two or three people taking turns doing the honors. Like the best handcrafted fabric, it contains slubs and nibs and nubs that serve as gentle reminders of technique without overwhelming or scarring the whole.

Here's Anselm talking to Bethlehem Shoals.