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bmarchman's review
challenging
funny
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
I have tried fairly unsuccessfully to add poetry to my intake of books. But when I went to a pride month free library hosted by Aesop, and saw the cover of this book, I was intrigued. While it was still a bit arduous (and challenging!) for me to fully get into the swing of reading poetry, O’Hara’s poetry pushed me along.
Given these are his selected works, so many of these poems are successful. I won’t say every single one resonated with me, but so much of the allure is how personal O’Hara’s poetry is. To me the value of this collection is the snapshot it provides of a gay poet living and working in NYC in the 1950’s and early 60’s when so much creative activity was taking place.
So for those scared to jump into poetry I would recommend this volume. Not only are the poems beautiful but they also give us a glimpse into a life cut far too short and a place and time lost to history.
Given these are his selected works, so many of these poems are successful. I won’t say every single one resonated with me, but so much of the allure is how personal O’Hara’s poetry is. To me the value of this collection is the snapshot it provides of a gay poet living and working in NYC in the 1950’s and early 60’s when so much creative activity was taking place.
So for those scared to jump into poetry I would recommend this volume. Not only are the poems beautiful but they also give us a glimpse into a life cut far too short and a place and time lost to history.
nichecase's review
5.0
Just an absolutely monumental work - there is so much to love about Frank. I've been an admirer of O'Hara (& New York School poetry) for years, like everyone in the world without properly sitting down and reading it (I was making my way through Ashbery's Selected earlier this year but I've misplaced it somewhere...) This makes the charm, magnetism & resources of Frank's poetry crystal clear. Yes, not every poem is a hit - but I was shocked by how much this collection offered, even today, even outside of the classic poems ('Having a Coke with You', 'The Day Lady Died', 'Meditations in an Emergency', 'Why I am Not a Painter'...)
October
Summer is over,
that moment of blindness
in a sunny wheelbarrow
aching on sand dunes
from a big melancholy
about war headlines
and personal hatreds.
Restful boredom waits
for the winterЃEЂЃEs cold solace
and biting season of galas
to take over my nerves,
and from anger at timeЃEЂЃEs
rough passage I fight
off the future, my friend.
Is there at all anywhere
in this lavender sky
beside the UN Building
where I am so little
and have dallied with love,
a fragment of the paradise
we see when signing treaties
or planning free radio stations?
If I turn down my sheets
children start screaming through
the windows. My glasses
are broken on the co
October
Summer is over,
that moment of blindness
in a sunny wheelbarrow
aching on sand dunes
from a big melancholy
about war headlines
and personal hatreds.
Restful boredom waits
for the winterЃEЂЃEs cold solace
and biting season of galas
to take over my nerves,
and from anger at timeЃEЂЃEs
rough passage I fight
off the future, my friend.
Is there at all anywhere
in this lavender sky
beside the UN Building
where I am so little
and have dallied with love,
a fragment of the paradise
we see when signing treaties
or planning free radio stations?
If I turn down my sheets
children start screaming through
the windows. My glasses
are broken on the co
sabretoothdream's review
5.0
What is more beautiful than night
and someone in your arms
that's what we love about art
it seems to prefer us and stays
and someone in your arms
that's what we love about art
it seems to prefer us and stays
missmim's review
5.0
The last five lines of "Steps" are quite possibly my favorite lines of poetry ever. I love that O'Hara's poetry seems slap-dash and harried, but is so beautiful and precise for all of that. He's definitely one my faves.
boyeatsgod's review
5.0
i love frank o'hara so there was no way this could be wrong for me. as with all collections, some poems are stronger than others as that's just how it goes, but i found it awe-inspiring & humbling to read along as o'hara progressed as a poet in his lifetime.
glowbird's review
3.0
Interesting. Finely crafted and evocitive of the post war period. All the same, not for me.
ombudsman's review
5.0
Just an absolutely monumental work - there is so much to love about Frank. I've been an admirer of O'Hara (& New York School poetry) for years, like everyone in the world without properly sitting down and reading it (I was making my way through Ashbery's Selected earlier this year but I've misplaced it somewhere...) This makes the charm, magnetism & resources of Frank's poetry crystal clear. Yes, not every poem is a hit - but I was shocked by how much this collection offered, even today, even outside of the classic poems ('Having a Coke with You', 'The Day Lady Died', 'Meditations in an Emergency', 'Why I am Not a Painter'...)
October
Summer is over,
that moment of blindness
in a sunny wheelbarrow
aching on sand dunes
from a big melancholy
about war headlines
and personal hatreds.
Restful boredom waits
for the winter’s cold solace
and biting season of galas
to take over my nerves,
and from anger at time’s
rough passage I fight
off the future, my friend.
Is there at all anywhere
in this lavender sky
beside the UN Building
where I am so little
and have dallied with love,
a fragment of the paradise
we see when signing treaties
or planning free radio stations?
If I turn down my sheets
children start screaming through
the windows. My glasses
are broken on the coffee table.
And at night a truce
with Iran or Korea seems certain
while I am beaten to death
by a thug in a back bedroom.
October
Summer is over,
that moment of blindness
in a sunny wheelbarrow
aching on sand dunes
from a big melancholy
about war headlines
and personal hatreds.
Restful boredom waits
for the winter’s cold solace
and biting season of galas
to take over my nerves,
and from anger at time’s
rough passage I fight
off the future, my friend.
Is there at all anywhere
in this lavender sky
beside the UN Building
where I am so little
and have dallied with love,
a fragment of the paradise
we see when signing treaties
or planning free radio stations?
If I turn down my sheets
children start screaming through
the windows. My glasses
are broken on the coffee table.
And at night a truce
with Iran or Korea seems certain
while I am beaten to death
by a thug in a back bedroom.
epicpinkfluffyunicorn's review
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
4.0
like some poems were bad and i skipped quite a bit but o’hara can really floor me with a shorter piece or a single line. also the essays were kinda interesting