At North Farm
"At North Farm" is a poem by American poet and writer John Ashbery.
History and writing
The poem first appeared in The New Yorker in 1984.[1] It was the opening poem of Ashbery's 1984 collection A Wave.[2] It was written soon after Ashbery almost died due to an infection.[3]
The poem is in part a reference to the epic poem Kalevala, which Ashbery revisited in his later poem "Finnish Rhapsody".[4]
Content
Composition
The poem loosely adheres to the form of a sonnet, with the traditional fourteen lines and the octet/seste of a Petrarchan sonnet.[5] Adhering to the format was not intentional on Ashbery's part.[5]
Themes
In her review of A Wave, Helen Vendler wrote that the poem deals with the pains of aging using clichés.[6]
Allusions and influences
The poem is evocative of W. H. Auden's work.[7] Auden had an influence on Ashbery early poetry, an influence that diminished over the course of his career.
Reception
Although shorter and simpler than many of his most famous works, it is considered to be a well-known poem of Ashbery's.[4]
External links
- At North Farm
References
- ^ Ashbery, John (9 April 1984). "At North Farm". The New Yorker.
- ^ Waters, William (2003). Poetry's Touch: On Lyric Address. Cornell University Press.
- ^ Gray, Timothy (2010). Urban Pastoral: Natural Currents in the New York School. University of Iowa Press.
- ^ a b Stewart, Susan (1988). "The Last Man". The American Poetry Review. 17 (5): 9–16.
- ^ a b Lehman, David (16 December 1984). "THE PLEASURES OF POETRY". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ Vendler, Helen (14 June 1984). "Making It New". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
- ^ Gander, Forrest (1 July 2007). "In Search of John Ashbery". Boston Review. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
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- Bibliography
- Honors
- Some Trees (1956)
- The Tennis Court Oath (1962)
- Rivers and Mountains (1966)
- The Double Dream of Spring (1970)
- Three Poems (1972)
- The Vermont Notebook (1975, illustrated by Joe Brainard)
- Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror (1975)
- Houseboat Days (1977)
- As We Know (1979)
- Shadow Train (1981)
- A Wave (1984)
- April Galleons (1987)
- Flow Chart (1991)
- Hotel Lautréamont (1992)
- And the Stars Were Shining (1994)
- Can You Hear, Bird (1995)
- Wakefulness (1998)
- Girls on the Run (1999)
- Your Name Here (2000)
- Chinese Whispers (2002)
- Where Shall I Wander (2005)
- A Worldly Country (2007)
- Planisphere (2009)
- Quick Question (2012)
- Breezeway (2015)
- Commotion of the Birds (2016)
- "The Skaters" (1964)
- "At North Farm" (1984)
- A Nest of Ninnies (1969, with James Schuyler)
- Other Traditions (2000)
- The Best American Poetry 1988
- The New American Poetry 1945–1960
- New York School (art)