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Ted BerriganAmerican poet.
Date of Birth: 15.11.1934
Country:  USA |
Content:
Early Life and Education
Ted Berrigan was born in Providence, Rhode Island. After graduating high school, he attended Providence College for a year before enlisting in the U.S. Army in 1954. He served three years before returning to academics at the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. In 1959, Berrigan earned his bachelor's degree, and in 1962, he failed his master's examination.
Literary Career
Berrigan married Sandy Berrigan, a fellow poet, and they had two children, David and Kate. His second wife, Alice Notley, was also a poet, and they collaborated and performed extensively in Chicago before relocating to New York City.
Berrigan was a prominent second-generation figure of the New York School of Poetry, alongside notable authors like Jim Carroll, Anselm Hollo, Ron Padgett, Anne Waldman, and Lewis Warsh. Notably, Berrigan collaborated with Padgett and Joe Brainard on the collection "Bean Spasms." This publication was innovative in its approach to copyright, as Berrigan, Padgett, and Brainard placed all of their contributions in a single volume without attributing authorship to specific works.
In 2005, Berrigan's collected works, both published and unpublished, were assembled by his wife, Alice Notley.
The Sonnets
One of Berrigan's most significant works is "The Sonnets," which demonstrates his adeptness at blending traditional Shakespearean sonnet techniques with the structure and rhythms of T. S. Eliot's works. Berrigan chose the sonnet form as a challenge, composing some sonnets piecemeal and others in a single burst of inspiration. "The Sonnets" is notable for its groundbreaking approach to reviving a classical form through contemporary expression, facilitated by Berrigan's skillful imitation of earlier masters while maintaining his own unique voice.
Later Life and Death
Ted Berrigan died on July 4, 1983, at the age of 48, from cirrhosis of the liver.
