by Jay Rafferty
This collection from the Editor-in-chief of Daily Drunk Magazine is a dazzling outpouring of poems that frame everyday pop-culture and societal mundanity as fresh, fierce and funny art. From SpongeBob to Pokémon to The Avengers this collection sings to the childhood heart of every 90s kid.
Berman’s poetry and his attitude towards running his Daily Drunk Mag are one and the same: approachable, laid-back and as chaotic as you like. His chummy, conversational tone in Mr. Funnyman’s poems is unmistakable. You’ll see it throughout the collection, and it’ll stick with you long after you set the book down. The speakers of these poems are not Shakespeare or Cummings or Tennyson, but I’d argue they’re much more relatable to a modern reader and much more human besides. These speakers will err till the cows come home (and being New York City natives that’ll be quite some time). They can come across as cowardly, contrarian, compassionate, catty, confused and critical but all of these flawed human factors just present a reader with a more honest and three-dimensional Lyric I. These poems are genuine reflections of a millennial mind without the pomp and circumstance of traditional poetic form and voice.
Berman’s titles are particularly unique, one could even consider them stanzas of their own just in bold print. Take for instance ‘This might sound funny to you but my significant other’s newfound Funko Pop obsession is ruining our love life’. Now that’s what I call one hell of a title.
With a complimentary suggested listening playlist (in the form of a QR code) in its pages, this collection is the perfect gift for the reader that thinks they don’t like poetry. Shawn Berman will change their minds. What he has achieved in Mr. Funnyman is what every poet covets in their first collection: a humorous, insightful voice that is entirely in its own league.
You can find this gorgeous collection on sale now here on Amazon and you can follow Shawn Berman on Twitter @SBB_Writer.
Jay Rafferty is an uncle, an Irishman and an eejit. He’s the Social Media Manager for Sage Cigarettes Magazine and a Best of the Net Nominee. You read his poems in several journals including Dodging the Rain, Lights on the Horizon and the Alcala Review. When not playing games of pool he, sometimes, writes stuff.
