April Bernard: A Poet of Romanticism and Noir

In her poem "To the Knife," she reflects on Alfred Hitchcock’s 1946 film "Notorious," stating it helped her understand that romantic endings are often unrealistic. She notes, "my dance like theirs properly never ends... it is a danse apache to the death," suggesting that the violence and complexity of love contradicts the notion of a tidy happy ending. Bernard's collection, "Romanticism" (2009), interweaves the themes of both romanticism and noir, emphasizing their emotional extremities despite not being particularly rational.

Addressing the pain embedded in her works, she recalls the words of Shelley, who wrote about life's thorns, and laments her own struggle to express profound emotions. The conclusion of her poem "Romance" evokes simple yet intimate moments, where she contemplates the nature of happiness and its perceived consequences.

Bernard currently serves as the director of creative writing at Skidmore College, where she also teaches literature, having previously taught for a decade at Bennington College. Her debut book, "Blackbird Bye Bye," won the prestigious Walt Whitman Award, praised by U.S. poet laureate W. S. Merwin as a testament to her remarkable talent.

In her writing, Bernard embraces an "intellectual ambition" that seeks to transcend the personal experience, aiming to touch on broader themes relevant to human experience. During the process of creating "Romanticism," she drew inspiration from literary figures like Henry James and incorporated elements of music such as lieder and opera.

Despite the underlying sorrow in her work, Bernard balances this with a sense of playfulness, engaging readers intellectually and emotionally. One poem cleverly juxtaposes Roy Orbison and John Milton, exploring themes of love and loss with humor and depth. She posits that precise language can provide solace: “Truth telling... offers a form of refreshment.”