Jon Berger is an unforgettably energetic and passionate member of NYC’s poetry community. His stage delivery is an artform that is not to be missed. He throws his entire body into each piece and gets quite personal with every audience member.
CS: How angry are you?
JB: I used to be something of an angry young man, but times have changed. I’m now more something of an angry old man. An angry, bitter, bald, old man… I think I’m more frustrated than angry most of the time. Mostly with myself.
Which part of your performance are you more concerned about the audience remembering: your words or your stage presence? What’s the ratio of importance between the two?
You know, I think I spend a lot more time focussing on the performance and less on the content. I kind of hope the content speaks for itself, but if I don’t shock and awe an audience – “conquer them,” is how I usually describe it – then nobody’s going to be listening to me anyway. I mean, maybe if they’re looking at words on a page, they’ll pay attention, but the only way to get a live audience to listen to me is to bludgeon them into submission.
There are times when I’ll seriously short-change a poem in the service of the performance. Drop an ending, kill the middle; all in the name of rock. Or whatever it is I do.
Tell us about your 30/30 Challenge.
I’m kind of new to Facebook, but I was looking at a new friend’s page, and I saw multiple references to the 30/30 Challenge: 30 new poems written in 30 days for April, National Poetry Month. Years ago – when I was angrier – I published online a poem a day for a couple of years. Sometimes, I would add days to the month, just to get more stuff done. So I’m trying to live up to the younger me, by putting up as many poems as I can. I’m trying to put online as many poems as the day of the month. So, on April 5th, I put up five new poems. On April 20th, I’ll be really busy. I don’t think I’m going to be able to succeed. It’s much more concentrated writing than I’ve ever done, and certainly, the quality will suffer. Still, it’s something to do, right?
You are a journalist yourself. What are your favorite parts of covering the NYC indie music and arts scene?
I’m trying to support a community that is basically running on fumes. The main motivation most people I know have to create in any capacity is because they want to, even though they’re not getting recognition, or money or popular mention or anything else. I think they want to be known. So I like helping people get known, or at least think they’re getting some kind of recognition. Also, I like seeing my byline.
Of all the music and books you have released, which are you most proud of, and why?
I’m probably not alone, but I’m pretty excited about the stuff that’s coming up. I’m wondering how I’ll be able to pull of this 30/30 Challenge I’ve set for myself. But I’m really really excited for my next album. I’ve been collaborating long distance with Grey Revell on a series of tracks for a year and a half. He’s been supplying instrumental tracks and I’ve been putting words and stories on top of them. The music is pretty astounding, and different from the kind of backing stuff I’ve worked with before. In May, I’m going down to Charlotte to record these tracks, and maybe come up with a bunch of new stuff. The album doesn’t exist yet, but I’m optimistic it’ll be very different from either of my earlier albums and VERY different from any of my chapbooks.
(Photos by Herb Scher)
See Jon Berger at the Sidewalk Cafe (94 Avenue A & 6th St) on Friday, May 1 at 8pm. No cover, 2 drink minimum.
Andrew Singer performs all over the NYC as comedic rapper “soce, the elemental wizard.” He has toured Europe and the U.S., and been featured on numerous media outlets, including MTV, VH1, Here TV, Logo, The Source, Out, Howard Stern and Sirius Shade 45.
Last 5 posts by Andrew Singer
- Vodka Shoes - March 4th, 2010
- Yisrael Campbell: Circumsize Him (Part One) - February 12th, 2010
- A Weekend of Arts and Leisure - January 4th, 2010
- Evan Morgenstern: A Really Nice Guy - August 27th, 2009
- Tonedeff: QN5's Mastermind - August 5th, 2009
[...] One of my recent interviewees–poet Jon Berger–also did a 30-day challenge (although his was to write numerous new poems during his 30 [...]