The Wonderful World of Frank O’Hara

May 28, 2008

The gym has been great not only for my health and soon-to-be ripped-ness, but I’ve been catching up on NewYorkers left and right.

I finally read the wonderful piece on Frank O’Hara’s writing by Dan Chiasson from April 7. (photo from TheNewyorker.com)

I’ve been a fan of Frank O’Hara for some years now, ever since the brother of an ex-boyfriend gave me a postcard with the poem “Lana Turner Has Collapsed” on it:

Lana Turner has collapsed!
I was trotting along and suddenly
it started raining and snowing
and you said it was hailing
but hailing hits you on the head
hard so it was really snowing and
raining and I was in such a hurry
to meet you but the traffic
was acting exactly like the sky
and suddenly I see a headline
LANA TURNER HAS COLLAPSED!
there is no snow in Hollywood
there is no rain in California
I have been to lots of parties
and acted perfectly disgraceful
but I never actually collapsed
oh Lana Turner we love you get up.

I have several of O’Hara’s collections– including the luminous Lunch Poems.

The NewYorker article explored many of the poems that I didn’t know of and provided such great insight to the ones I did.

Also, I discovered the following line, that is going to be my mantra (from the poem “Ave Maria”):

Mothers of America

let your kids go to the movies!

Read Dan Chiasson’s terrific essay here.