LITR 5731: Seminar in American Multicultural Literature

Poetry Presentation, fall 2007

Thursday, 29 November: The Best Little Boy in the World.

Poetry: Frank O'Hara, "My Heart"

Poetry reader / discussion leader: Philip R. Jones

Frank O’Hara

“My Heart”

Biography / Key facts:

-         Frank O’Hara was born in Baltimore in 1926, and raised in Massachusetts.

-         He studied music at Harvard University, and the University of Michigan.

-         He was very dedicated to the New York art scene, particularly to abstract expressionist such as William De Koonig, Jackson Pollock, and Franz Kline.

-         O’Hara is best known for his “I do this I do that” poems such as “A Step Away From Them,” “Why I am Not a Painter,” and “The Day Lady Died.”

-         In the morning of July 24, 1966, he was struck and injured by a beach buggy on the beach of Fire Island, and died the following day.

-         He was buried in Springs cemetery in Long Island.

-         He published six books of poetry from 1952 until his death.

Poem Interpretation:

-         It appears as though Frank O’Hara idealizes the poetic art and regards poetry as the dominant part of his soul.

-         He seems to idealize unconventionality, and glorifies behavior that rebels against the norm.

-         He is very “Romantic” in the sense that he seems to prioritize difference, individuality, and creative self-assertion on all levels of his life. 

-         Interestingly, he characterizes his poetry as an extension of himself

-         Ultimately, poetry is his aesthetic way of immortalizing his true self.  His poetry is his voice

Objective 5a: To discover the power of poetry and fiction to help “others” hear the minority voice and vicariously share the minority experience.

Objective 6:  To observe images of the individual, the family, and alternative families in the writings and experiences of minority groups.

Interesting Poetic Perspective:  In an essay entitled “Personism: A Manifesto,” O’Hara sheds some light on his views towards poetry, declaring that “Nobody should experience anything they don’t need to, if they don’t need poetry bully for them.”  In essence, O’Hara wanted poetry to be a personal, spur-of-the-moment spontaneity in which abstraction is ruled out in favor of an expression of the artist’s personal voice or style.  Consequently, many of his poems were composed during spare moments.  Most, in fact, were left around his apartment or sent in letters to friends.

Questions:

1. Do we as modern day Americans mirror Frank O’Hara in his passion to utilize the aesthetic and the visual such as poetry and letter writing, and various styles of clothing to express our personalities, aspirations, and innermost dreams? 

2. Do we as modern day Americans mirror the Romantics ideas of individuality, creative and aesthetic self-assertion, and rebellious mentality, or have we conformed to the authoritative, repressive ideas and expectations of conventional society?

3. Is O’Hara expressing an inner cry in his poetry for social acceptance?

My Heart

by Frank O'Hara (1926-1966)


I'm not going to cry all the time
nor shall I laugh all the time,
I don't prefer one "strain" to another.
I'd have the immediacy of a bad movie,
not just a sleeper, but also the big,
overproduced first-run kind. I want to be
at least as alive as the vulgar. And if
some aficionado of my mess says "That's
not like Frank!", all to the good! I
don't wear brown and grey suits all the time,
do I? No. I wear workshirts to the opera,
often. I want my feet to be bare,
I want my face to be shaven, and my heart--
you can't plan on the heart, but
the better part of it, my poetry, is open.