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Having a Coke with You - Recitation
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Having a Coke with You

description Having a Coke with You Overview

Frank O’Hara’s “Having a Coke with You” is a 1960 poem celebrating a simple moment shared with Vincent Warren. The work exemplifies the New York School's focus on urban experience and everyday relationships. It contrasts the value of immediate connection with traditional notions of artistic importance, appealing to those interested in contemporary poetry and O’Hara’s distinctive style.

help Having a Coke with You FAQ

Who is 'Having a Coke with You' addressed to?

The poem is addressed to Frank O'Hara's romantic partner, the dancer Vincent Warren, whom O'Hara was involved with in the early 1960s. O'Hara wrote many of his most celebrated love poems with Warren as their inspiration.

What art references appear in 'Having a Coke with You'?

The poem references Diego Velázquez's portrait of Pope Innocent X and mentions walking through New York's Frick Collection. O'Hara playfully asserts that the beauty of simply being with his partner outshines any Old Master painting.

What poetic movement was Frank O'Hara part of?

O'Hara was a central figure of the New York School of poetry, alongside John Ashbery, Kenneth Koch, and James Schuyler. He was also a curator at the Museum of Modern Art, which deeply informed the art-historical references throughout his work.

What collection contains 'Having a Coke with You'?

The poem appeared in O'Hara's 1964 collection 'Lunch Poems,' published by City Lights Books. That volume remains one of the most widely read and accessible works of American avant-garde poetry.

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