John Ashbery

Jess Cotton

• Publisher: Reaktion Books
• Year: 2023
• Print ISBN: 9781789143911
• eBook ISBN: 9781789143928
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Literary Biographies
• Index: Literature

A critical biography of America's most influential postmodern poet. Mysterious, esoteric, and baffling, John Ashbery is notorious for the seeming difficulty of his work. But Ashbery is also entertaining, humorous, even charming, and ever responsive to his shifting social and political contexts. This biography charts Ashbery's rise from a minor avant-garde figure to the most important poet of his generation. Jess Cotton provides a legible and accessible roadmap to Ashbery's work that draws connections between his poetry, New York artists, and mid-century politics. Cotton paints an image of a more approachable and socially engaged Ashbery that will appeal to anyone interested in American poetry, queer lives, and twentieth-century American history.

Table of contents

• Front Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Introduction: ‘Everybody’s Autobiography’: Writing Against the Confessional Grain
• 1 ‘Living on the Edge of a Live Volcano’: Childhood, 1927–42
• 2 ‘Our Days Put on Such Reticence’: The Making of Little J. A., 1943–9
• 3 ‘Excitation, Excitation of Feeling/ Excitement, Mental Excitement’: The Encouraging Climate of New York, 1949–55
• 4 ‘I Love Trashy Things as Long as They’re French’: Taking French Leave, 1955–64
• 5 ‘The Invisible Avant-Garde’: Turning Down Warhol, 1965–75
• 6 ‘I’m Famous for Being Famous’: The Decade of Self-Inventiveness, 1975–84
• 7 ‘The Tribe of John’: In the Manner of Ashbery, 1984–94
• 8 ‘Jump-Start Variety’: The Zaniness of the Late Style, 1994–2017
• Epilogue: ‘Let’s Pay Attention’: Ashbery’s Lives
• References
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgements
• Photo Acknowledgements