Joining us on Backlisted this week is novelist and memoirist Susie Boyt (My Judy Garland Life, Loved and Missed). The book Susie has chosen for us to discuss is The Dream Songs (1969) by John Berryman, the publication of which briefly made its author the most famous poet in America but also, unfortunately, hastened his decline and ruin. But the work shines on. Also in this episode Andy is struck by the contemporary resonance of Vivian Gornick's The Romance of American Communism while John drinks in Public House: A Cultural and Social History of the London Pub edited by David Knight and Cristina Monteiro. Please note, this episode contains references to suicide.

Timings: (may differ due to variable advert length)

08:06 - The Romance of American Communism by Vivian Gornick

15:27 - Public House: A Cultural and Social History of the London Pub edited by David Knight and Cristina Monteiro

20:24 - The Dream Songs by John Berryman

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