Thoughts for my second paper and reactions to poems

Since I began to really read poetry for myself, and not because of school or any other pressure, Ginsberg and O'Hara have been two of my favorite poets. Ginsberg because...well, for so many reasons, but largely because of the sincerity of his words, the beauty of his language, and that he was incredibly prolific (and for so many reasons beyond that; I have always felt in some way akin to Ginsberg more than any other poet). O'Hara, on the other hand, had Ginsberg's base sentiment--that is, O'Hara, unlike most of the New York School, appears nearly Confessional. O'Hara and Ginsberg, of course, have many of the same influences. O'Hara, however, though extraordinarily prolific, was not comparable to Ginsberg, perhaps solely because he died young, in a tragic accident. I think about that a lot, actually, whenever I read him. What would O'Hara's later poems been like?

Anyway, "Mayakovsky" has always had a special place in my heart. I think, at this point, I could recite most of the poem by memory because I have read it so many times. I do remember, reading it young and then, sometime later, hearing the poem recited on 'Mad Men' and realizing, only then, what a marvel it was. To me, it always seemed like a fight to find oneself. It was not until college that anyone suggested (perhaps correctly) that it was O'Hara struggling through a break-up.

O'Hara, like Ginsberg, has this great ability to articulate feelings that I've largely considered ineffable.

Mother, mother / who am I?

There is a beautiful moment in Barth's novel Lost in the Funhouse (within the short story 'Menelaid') where Menelaus asks the same question and he is met by complete silence (the typography, by the way, is beautiful, seven quotation marks embracing nothing). When I read O'Hara, I think largely of that. Who am I? he asks, and the only answer (a poet) is hidden under his despair for his lover who left him. (If he will just come back once..., What does he think of that? I mean what do I?... everything is secondary to his lover.)

O'Hara has a tendency to do this. He had a series of intense, but often disappointing relationships. Even his friendships were extremely passionate. Who was he? His poetry suggests that he himself only existed as it related to others.

How common a feeling.


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I'd like to do my second paper on the New York School (of poets, not artists or musicians). However, I can't quite decide what my thesis would be. The New York School is fascinating because, as it suggests, all the poets really did the best of their work in New York City. One or two became ex-pats, but most remained within the area. It was the 60's, approximately. I maybe would like to look at either how it began to develop, or compare the New York School to the Beats, who were of the same approximate era, had many stylistic similarities, had nearly the exact same literary influences, and, of course, lived in the same area.

I'm unsure though. I need to look into this more.