William Carlos Williams, Frank O'Hara, and the New York art scene

167 Pages·2010·3 MB·English

by  O'Hara, Frank;Williams, William Carlos;Cappucci, Paul R

William Carlos Williams,
Frank O’Hara,
and the New York Art Scene
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William Carlos Williams,
Frank O’Hara,
and the New York Art Scene
Paul R. Cappucci
Madison•Teaneck
FairleighDickinsonUniversity Press
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(cid:2)2010byRosemontPublishing&PrintingCorp.
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ThepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstherequirementsoftheAmerican
NationalStandardforPermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials
Z39.48-1984.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Cappucci,PaulR.
WilliamCarlosWilliams,FrankO’Hara,andtheNewYorkartscene/PaulR.
Cappucci.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-8386-4218-4(alk.paper)
1.Williams,WilliamCarlos,1883–1963—Knowledge—Art. 2.Williams,
WilliamCarlos,1883–1963—Knowledge—Abstractexpressionism. 3.O’Hara,
Frank,1926-1966—Knowledge—Art. 4.O’Hara,Frank,1926–1966—
Knowledge—Abstractexpressionism. 5.Artandliterature—UnitedStates—
History—20thcentury. 6.Artinliterature. I.Title.
PS3545.I544Z5826 2010
811(cid:2).52—dc22 2009035099
printedintheunitedstatesofamerica
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Thisbookisdedicated to
Sharon,Daniel,Timothy,James,andMargaret
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Contents
Acknowledgments 9
Introduction 13
1. APoet‘‘Better ThantheMovies’’ 25
2. ‘‘TheAmericanSpirit inArt’’:Williamsand Abstract
Expressionism 51
3. Imaginative‘‘BlobsofPaint’’:JacksonPollockintheWork
ofWilliamsandO’Hara 72
4. ‘‘ABlossomingoftheSpirit’’:Williams,EmanuelRomano,
andtheAuthenticityof ArtisticExpression 98
5. EfficiencyinForm:ArtistryandAuthenticityintheWorks
ofWilliams,O’Hara, andSmith 118
Conclusion 146
Notes 151
Bibliography 156
Index 164
7
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Acknowledgments
G
RATEFULACKNOWLEDGMENT ISGIVENTONEWDIRECTIONSPUB-
lishing Corporation for permission to reprint the published and un-
published works of William Carlos Williams cited in this book. The
Autobiography of William Carlos Williams. Copyright 1948. 1951 by
WilliamCarlosWilliams.CollectedPoems:VolumeI,1909–1939.Copy-
right 1938 by New Directions Publishing Corporation. Copyright (cid:2)
1982, 1986 by William Eric Williams and Paul H. Williams. Collected
Poems:VolumeII,1939–1962.Copyright 1944,1953,(cid:2)1962,byWil-
liam Carlos Williams. Copyright (cid:2) 1988 by William Eric Williams
and Paul H. Williams. The Embodiment of Knowledge. Copyright (cid:2)
1974 by Florence H. Williams. I Wanted to Write a Poem. Copyright
(cid:2) 1958by WilliamCarlos Williams.Imaginations. Copyright(cid:2) 1970
by Florence H. Williams. In the American Grain. Copyright 1925 by
James Laughlin. Copyright 1933 by William Carlos Williams. Pater-
son.Copyright(cid:2)1946,1948,1949,1958byWilliamCarlosWilliams.
ARecognizableImage:WilliamCarlosWilliamsonArtandArtists.Copy-
right (cid:2) 1978 by the Estate of Florence H. Williams. Selected Essays.
Copyright 1954 by William Carlos Williams. Selected Letters of Wil-
liam Carlos Williams. Copyright 1957 by William Carlos Williams.
Something To Say: William Carlos Williams on Younger Poets. Copyright
(cid:2) 1985 by William Eric Williams and Paul H. Williams. Interviews
with William Carlos Williams: Speaking Straight Ahead. Copyright (cid:2)
1976 by the Estate of William Carlos Williams. Previously unpub-
lished material by William Carlos Williams included in the book (cid:2)
2010bytheEstatesofPaulH.WilliamsandWilliamEricWilliams.
I also wish to acknowledge that excerpts appearing from Frank
O’Hara’s Art Chronicles, Standing Still and Walking in New York, Amo-
rousNightmaresofDelay,andunpublishedlettersarecopyright(cid:2)2010
byMaureenGranville-SmithandarereprintedbypermissionofMau-
reen Granville-Smith. Excerpts from ‘‘The Day Lady Died,’’ ‘‘On
Rachmaninoff’s Birthday,’’ ‘‘A Step Away from Them,’’ and ‘‘What
Sledgehammer? or W.C. Williams’s Been Attacked!’’ are copyright
9
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10 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
1964 by Frank O’Hara and reprinted by permission of City Lights
Books. Selections from ‘‘Autobiographia Literaria,’’ ‘‘Today,’’ ‘‘Poem
ReadatJoanMitchell’s,’’‘‘WhyIAmNotaPainter,’’‘‘Digressionon
Number1,1948,’’‘‘Biotherm(forBillBerkson),’’‘‘ChristmasCardto
Grace Hartigan,’’ ‘‘Memorial Day 1950,’’ ‘‘A Walk on Sunday After-
noon,’’ ‘‘To A Poet,’’ ‘‘Mozart Chemisier,’’ ‘‘Ode on Causality,’’ and
‘‘Personism: A Manifesto’’ from THE COLLECTED POEMS OF
FRANK O’HARA by Frank O’Hara, edited by Donald Allen, copy-
right (cid:2) 1971 by Maureen Granville-Smith, Administratrix of the Es-
tate of Frank O’Hara. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a
divisionof RandomHouse,Inc.
Also, I offer grateful acknowledgment to Julie Dreyfuss Tatum for
permission to quote from Emanuel Romano’s unpublished diary and
correspondence, as well as to reprint his painting Self Portrait (1956).
Finally,IthankBobArnold,literaryexecutorforCidCorman’sestate,
for permission to quote from Cid Corman’s unpublished correspon-
dence.
IalsowishtothankthelibrarystaffsattheBeineckeLibraryatYale
University, the Morris Library at the University of Delaware, the
Mandeville Special Collections, University of California, San Diego,
the Harry Ransom Research Center, University of Texas at Austin,
and the Archives and Special Collections at the Thomas J. Dodd Re-
search Center at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. I also wish to
thank the professional staffs of Fairleigh Dickinson University Press
and Associated University Presses for their feedback and efforts to
producethisbook.
I am indebted to the students, administration, and faculty of Geor-
gian Court University. Conversations with several colleagues influ-
enced the development of this project: Claire Gallagher, Suzanne
Pilgram, Sister Phyllis Bremen, and John Woznicki. I also would like
tothankMaryBasso,ResearchLibrarianatG.C.U.,wholocatedvalu-
able information on Emanuel Romano. Michelle Depolo, a former
student, offered research assistance during the project’s early stages
withgeneroussupportfromaG.C.U.SummerResearchGrant.Ialso
am grateful to G.C.U. for granting me a sabbatical to complete the
writingandrevisingofthismanuscript.
On a personal note, I would like to thank Dr. Ian Copestake for
providingmewithseveralopportunitiestopresentmywork,including
two W. C. Williams conferences held at Johann Wolfgang Goethe
UniversityinFrankfurt,Germany.Ialsowouldliketothankmymen-
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