August 6, 7 & 8 - introduction to three "New York Poets"

Note: Heather Starr, poet and Program Manager of the Kelly Writers House, will join our listserv discussion during all of chapter 5 of our course.
• John Asbhery, headnote (Norton, p. 1258-59)
• John Ashbery, "The Instruction Manual" (Norton, pp. 1259-61)
• paper option #8 (due before 12:01 AM on August 6, sent to papers@writing.upenn.edu): Ashbery's "The Instruction Manual" implicitly is critical of what might be called "the ideology of first-hand experience." In this paper, describe that position and then state your position on what you think is Ashbery's position. To what extent are you persuaded by Ashbery's (mostly counter-intuitive) attitude toward experience?
• Frank O'Hara, headnote (Norton, pp. 1230-31)

  Shawn Walker poet & English 88v T.A.

• Frank O'Hara, "The Day Lady Died," "Why I am Not a Painter" (Norton, pp. 1233. 1235)
• Billie Holiday - brief biography
• O'Hara, "Like"
• O'Hara per Galway Kinnell in a review essay of 1958
• ut pictura poesis
• Kenneth Koch, "Mending Sump," "Variations on a Theme by Williams" (Norton, pp. 1130, 1132)
• audio: Al Filreis on three major categories of "New York Poets" verse: (1) anti-narrative, (2) non-narrative, and (3) pastiche or appropriation
• "pastiche"
• Shawn Walker, "Birthday on a Bridge"

August 9, live webcast class session beginning at 7:30 PM eastern time - Ashbery and the non-narrative

Note: Prepare these Ashbery poems before the 7:30 PM webcast.
• John Ashbery, "Some Trees"
• Steven Robinson's paraphrase of "Some Trees"
• Ashbery, "What Is Poetry"
• paper option #9 (due before 5 PM on August 9, sent to papers@writing.upenn.edu): Write a paper that accomplishes just this: an explanation (or "translation" into your own plainest words) of Ashbery's "What Is Poetry"
• audio: Al Filreis on aspects of the poetry of Ashbery
• Ashbery, "Hard Times" (Norton, p. 1270)
• John Ashbery, "The One Thing That Can Save America" (Norton, p. 1265-66)
• John Ashbery, "The Grapevine"