PoemTalk #185: Two by Frank O'Hara

While announcing the latest episode in the PoemTalk Podcast series, it occurred to your humble correspondent that he had neglected to announce the previous episode, and that's a shame because it's subject, Frank O'Hara, is an icon. For episode #185 host Al Filreis and company set up their microphones at the Pacific Palisades home of Marjorie Perloff, where they were joined by Robert von Hallberg and Charles Altieri for a lively conversation about two poems by O'Hara:  "Song (Is it dirty)" and "Poem (Lana Turner Has Collapsed)." 

In his Jacket2 post for the episode #185, Filreis provides details on each of the recordings under discussion. "Poem" was recorded at SUNY-Buffalo's Lockwood Memorial Library in 1964, while "Song" was filmed for Richard O. Moore's groundbreaking NET series USA: Poetry at O'Hara's NYC apartment in 1966. Links to the full text of each poem are also provided.

You can listen to this latest program and learn more about the show here. PoemTalk is a joint production of PennSound and the Poetry Foundation, aided by the generous support of Nathan and Elizabeth Leight. Browse the full PoemTalk archives, spanning more than a decade, by clicking here.