Bernadette Mayer (May 12, 1945 – November 22, 2022) was an American poet, writer, and visual artist. She was connected to both the Language poets and the New York School.
Mayer wrote more than 30 books of poetry. She won a Guggenheim fellowship in 2015. She taught poetry at New England College in New Hampshire, Naropa University in Colorado, the New School and other colleges.
She said about poetry, "“The idea of perfection in a poem is pretty stupid. Because if nothing else is perfect, why should a poem be perfect?”
Writing
Story, New York: 0 to 9 Press, 1968. Moving, New York: Angel Hair, 1971. Memory, Plainfield, VT: North Atlantic Books, 1976. Ceremony Latin (1964), New York: Angel Hair, 1975. Studying Hunger, New York: Adventures in Poetry/ Bolinas, CA: Big Sky, 1976. Poetry, New York: Kulchur Foundation, 1976. Eruditio Ex Memoria, Lenox, MA: Angel Hair, 1977. The Golden Book of Words, Lenox, MA: Angel Hair, 1978. Midwinter Day, Berkeley, California, Turtle Island Foundation, 1982. Utopia, New York: United Artists Books, 1984. Mutual Aid (Mademoiselle de la Mole Press, 1985) Sonnets, New York: Tender Buttons, 1989. The Formal Field of Kissing, New York: Catchword Papers, 1990. A Bernadette Mayer Reader, New York: New Directions, 1992. The Desires of Mothers to Please Others in Letters, West Stockbridge, MA: Hard Press, 1994. Another Smashed Pinecone, New York: United Artists Books, 1998. Proper Name & other stories, New York: New Directions, 1996. Two Haloed Mourners: Poems, New York: Granary Books, 1998. Midwinter Day, New York: New Directions, 1999 (reprint of 1982 edition). Scarlet Tanager, New York: New Directions, 2005. What's Your Idea of a Good Time?: Letters and Interviews 1977–1985 with Bill Berkson, Berkeley: Tuumba Press, 2006. Poetry State Forest, New York: New Directions, 2008. Ethics of Sleep, New Orleans: Trembling Pillow Press, 2011. Studying Hunger Journals, Barrytown, NY: Station Hill Press, 2011. The Helens of Troy, NY, New York: New Directions, 2013. At Maureen's (with Greg Masters), New York: Crony Books, 2013. Eating the Colors of a Lineup of Words: The Early Books of Bernadette Mayer (Station Hill Press, 2015, ed. Michael Ruby and Sam Truitt) Works and Days (New Directions, 2017) Memory (Siglio Press, 2020) The Basketball Article Comic Book, with Anne Waldman, illustrated by Jason Novak (Franchise, 2021) Milkweed Smithereens (New Directions, 2022)