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At North Farm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"At North Farm" is a poem by American poet and writer John Ashbery.

History and writing

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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

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Composition

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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

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In her review of A Wave, Helen Vendler wrote that the poem deals with the pains of aging using clichés.[6]

Allusions and influences

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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

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Although shorter and simpler than many of his most famous works, it is considered to be a well-known poem of Ashbery's.[4]

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References

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  1. ^ Ashbery, John (9 April 1984). "At North Farm". The New Yorker.
  2. ^ Waters, William (2003). Poetry's Touch: On Lyric Address. Cornell University Press.
  3. ^ Gray, Timothy (2010). Urban Pastoral: Natural Currents in the New York School. University of Iowa Press.
  4. ^ a b Stewart, Susan (1988). "The Last Man". The American Poetry Review. 17 (5): 9–16.
  5. ^ a b Lehman, David (16 December 1984). "THE PLEASURES OF POETRY". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  6. ^ Vendler, Helen (14 June 1984). "Making It New". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved 30 December 2017.
  7. ^ Gander, Forrest (1 July 2007). "In Search of John Ashbery". Boston Review. Retrieved 30 December 2017.