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A review by bmarchman
The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara by Frank O'Hara
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.