TO O CLO S E TO GETH ER, TO O FA R A PA RT
Frank O’Hara BY CIARAN BANKWALL A ILLUSTRATED BY HUBERT WINDAL
T
he New York School emerged during the 1950s, at a time when America had risen to a “new power on the world stage” in the wake of World War II (193945). Painters who embodied the “avant-garde spirit” were no longer led by the domineering influences of artists from the School of Paris and poets who were closely linked with the painters became known as the New York School of poets. The poets were placed into new positions of power – which allowed them to challenge the doctrines of the literary establishment in the 1950s. Poets preceding the New York poets in the early 1950s varied in terms of a serious nature, the trauma tinged Confessionals and the Beats generation, the latter of which encompassed a rejection of narrative values and in some cases, heightened tones of aggression. It could be argued, then, that The New York School of poets emerged as a reaction to the formerly mentioned movements. But this would not be entirely accurate. Rather, the New York School of Poets worked in an abstract and witty style that combined literary and artistic influences to create a new post-war aesthetic. The poetry which emerged from poets like Frank O’Hara was less of a reaction to the writers before him, but more of an observation. As with the Beats Generation, the New York School of Poets had an immediate, direct manner embedded in their style – writing as outsiders. But poets like Frank O’Hara distanced themselves from the overt aggression seen with the Beats generation, and they were less likely to use their art as a protest. The New York poets used an abstract and witty style, incorporating ironic humour and Hollywood-esque gossip. On the
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