How should we say 2010?

Wednesday, 11 March 2009

Having a coke with you

Doing a bit of slightly uncool Mad Men research on Youtube, I just stumbled across this: a video of the poet Frank O'Hara reading his poem Having A Coke With You. I love it. How could you ever be unhappy again if someone had written this about you?

It sticks with me that my dad has told me several times that poets are the most talented and remarkable writers - he's right.

4 readers just couldn't let me have the last word:

ClaireRachel said...

This is amazing. I haven't been able to watch the clip, but have Googled the poem. It gets better each time you read it. I'm finding it quite hard to stop.

Brother Tobias said...

It is beautiful, and all the more flattering and persuasive because it rings so true.

Did your Dad also say that poets are not always the best readers, though? I bet, for instance, WH Auden couldn't do half the job John Hannah did on 'Funeral Blues'.

Hattie said...

He does say that, yeah! In particular he sometimes says that Phillip Larkin was terrible at reading his own work.

I think Frank O'Hara does a pretty good job though.

Bridget Callahan said...

There is nothing uncool about watching Mad Men on youtube. Especially because they seemed determined to make me wait a whole year before I get a new episode.