New York School of Poetry

1
New York School of Poetry
2
John Ashbery

• Born in Rochester, New York in 1928.
• Raised near Ontario
• Brother died when they were children
• Attended Harvard and Columbia
• Met up with other New York School poets while in
  New York City
• Translator of French pulp and became an art
  critic

3
Ashberys aesthetic

• disjunctive syntax
• Witty wordplay
• a prosaic, sometimes flat or parodic tone
• Writes about the mind, and his poems imitate how
  the mind moves (non-linearly).
• Once said his goal was to write a poem a critic
  could not even talk about.

4
The Instruction Manual

• http//writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Ashbery.php

5
Frank OHara

• Born in Baltimore, Maryland
• Originally studied to be a pianist
• Fought in the Army and used the GI Bill to attend
  Harvard
• Lived in New York as an critic and a curator at
  MOMA
• Known for extreme sociability and passion
• Died suddenly at the age of 40

6
OHaras aesthetic

• Tried to capture speed and immediacy not unlike
  Twombleys gestural expressionism, but in
  thoughts
• Flaneur poet wrote about his walks through the
  city
• What else?

7
Lana Turner has Collapsed

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vYAYCpqZEAro
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vYDLwivcpFe8feature
  related

8
Today

• No idea but in things Williams
• Relinquishes control to the reader
• Can serve as a kind of collection of favorite
  words, a collage of words meant to surprise.

9
James Schuyler

• Native of Chicago
• Moved to New York and became friends with
  Ashbery, OHara and Koch
• Manic depressive, alcoholic, nearly died while
  smoking in bed
• Also curator at MOMA like OHara
• Associated with the poet Auden, was his typist in
  Italy

10
Schuylers aesthetic

• Had the ability to take the ordinary and bring
  out its extraordinary qualities
• Barbara Guest called him, an intimist. (Able to
  keep the reader riveted by not revealing secret
  until right moment).
• Known as the poet of snow and flowers, as well.
• Strategies a sparseness across the page, simple
  diction