SOURCE: Feldman, Alan. “Language and Style.” In Frank O'Hara, pp. 45-63. Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1979.

In the following essay, Feldman examines stylistic aspects of O'Hara's poetry.

O'Hara's poetry is innovative, but he disliked theorizing. His attitude toward the craft of poetry was that there ought not to be much. “You just go on your nerve,” he explained. “I don't believe in god, so I don't have to make elaborately sounded structures. … I don't even like rhythm, assonance, all that stuff. … If someone's chasing you down the street with a knife you just run, you don't turn around and shout, ‘Give it up! I was a track star for Mineola Prep.’” O'Hara goes on to say that as for “measure” and other technical matters in poetry “that's just common sense: if you're going to buy a pair of pants you want them to be tight enough so everyone will want...