The Last Avant-garde: The Making of the New York School of PoetsGreenwich Village, New York, circa 1951. Every night, at a rundown tavern with a magnificent bar called the Cedar Tavern, an extraordinary group of painters, writers, poets, and hangers-on arrive to drink, argue, tell jokes, fight, start affairs, and bang out a powerful new aesthetic. Their style is playful, irreverent, tradition-shattering, and brilliant. Out of these friendships, and these conversations, will come the works of art and poetry that will define New York City as the capital of world culture--abstract expressionism and the New York School of Poetry. A richly detailed portrait of one of the great movements in American arts and letters, "The Last Avant Garde covers the years 1948-1966 and focuses on four fast friends--the poets Frank O'Hara, James Schuyler, John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch. Lehman brings to vivid life the extraordinary creative ferment of the time and place, the relationship of great friendship to great art, and the powerful influence that a group of visual artists--especially Jane Freilicher, Larry Rivers, and Fairfield Porter--had on the literary efforts of the New York School. The book will be both a definitive and lively view of a quintessentially American aesthetic and an exploration of the dynamics of creativity. |
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The Last Avant-Garde: The Making of the New York School of Poets David Lehman No preview available - 1999 |
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Abstract Allen American appeared artist Ashbery's asked avant-garde beautiful beginning called City collaboration Collected critic death dream early effect example experience fact Fairfield feel felt figure Frank O'Hara Freilicher French friends gave give Grace Hartigan hand happiness Harvard head idea imagination Interview irony James Schuyler Jane John Ashbery Kenneth Koch Koch's language Larry Rivers later Letter Library lines literary lived look March means mind movement movie nature never night once painter painting Paris perhaps person play pleasure poem poetry poets political Porter possible Press published quoted reader remember Review Robert seems sense sometimes Street talk things thought tion told took true turned University walk wanted whole writing written wrote York School young