Gooch, Brad (O'Hara, Frank)

City Poet: The Life and Times of Frank O'Hara

New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1993. First Edition. Hardcover. “The University of Michigan was as American as Harvard was European. Its scale alone was a reminder of the campus’s location in the middle of the vast expanse of the American continent, a sensation of coastlessness that made O’Hara a bit nervous, as was evident in his poem of the following July (‘Ann Arbor Variations’)…. O’Hara had chosen to rent a small room in an oversized Victorian house at 1513 South University Avenue, one of many old family homes converted into student apartments serving as alternatives to the standard campus dorms and to the formidable row of fraternities and sororities, known as the Greeks, just down the street. Falling back on the reserves of independence uncovered in the Navy, O’Hara decided to hunker down in this epitome of a college town to work on his writing, a resolution that was to result in a burst of almost ninety new poems and two new plays over the next ten months” (pg. 166-167). "City Poet: The Life and Times of Frank O'Hara" (1926-1966) simply must be regarded as a topflight resource for all those interested in O'Hara, and his inimitable contributions to American poetry. As this work recounts, O'Hara was at the forefront of the now-canonized New York art & poetry scene of the 1950s & 60s. He was a vibrant, daily presence whose company and genius were cherished by almost everyone who knew him. Biographer, Brad Gooch (b. 1952) has given us an essential guide to understanding O'Hara's impact on and participation in mid-century artistic innovation, and for that, we should be grateful! [ISBN: 0-394-57118-6]. Hardcover in unclipped dust-jacket: First Edition, as stated on copyright page. Book in very fine condition with only mild shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back covers & spine; single extant exhibit of bumping to bottommost fine-edge of front cover at center-middle of same. Dust-jacket in similarly very fine condition with correspondingly mild shelf-wear to fine-edges & corners of front, back cover & spine; slightly more pronounced crinkling present at topmost fine-edge of rear flap at interior, else pristine. An extra handling fee will be added for shipping due to the weight of this item. Very Fine / Very Fine. [Item #5171]

Price: $30.00