NO NO THE SADDEST

This collection is the nightmarish narrative of a crucial episode in the poet's life. After a few introductory poems establishing a strong romantic and loving relationship with his pregnant wife, Lynn, the calm disappears with what first appears to be a headache. As the poems progress, it becomes apparent that Lynn has had an aneurism. She has brain surgery, and she lapses into a coma from which she will never awake. The poems describe the anguish of living with a loved one who is lost to the world. She does not die. In fact, she carries their baby to full term and gives birth to a healthy son of whom she will never be aware. After a few years, Lynn dies, the boy grows, and the poet, Alan, eventually finds another love. He writes, He heals.

Alan Bern has been a fine arts printer and designer, a commercial printer, pressman and scanner operator. He has been an English and creative writing instructor at California community colleges. He has also worked as a children's and teen librarian and is now Special Services Coordinator at the Berkeley Public Library. He hold a MA in English and Creative Writing and a MLIS in Library and Information Services. He lives in Berkely, California.