Plaque is poetic justice
To The Editor:
Re “Where poet Frank O’Hara was prolific, a new plaque” (news article, July 3):
This is great. Frank O’Hara busted it open and made poetry fun. The East Village is right to claim him as somewhat of a native son. Tony Towle is widely considered to be O’Hara’s protégé, to have inherited the mantle. And it’s well deserved. Few are more urbane, witty or entertaining than Mr. Towle, who often ends his poems with an uplifting soul-searching.
Towle’s roommate of the time was also a great poet. But his name was Frank Lima, not Joe. Frank passed on last year. His poems brought duende to the New York School.
What a heritage we have here in the East Village! Ted Berrigan! Alice Notley! And the super Berrigan boys, Eddie, Anselm and David. Kudos to Phil Hartman and Andrew Berman.
Jeffrey Cyphers Wright
Adding to O’Hara’s story
To The Editor:
Re “Where poet Frank O’Hara was prolific, a new plaque” (news article, July 3):
Thanks for Heather Dubin’s article on Frank O’Hara. I’ve known about O’Hara and his collaborators, but didn’t know that he lived in the apartment at 441 E. Ninth St. Even more interesting is to learn that he chose subjects for his poems from our neighborhood. With the plaque dedication on June 10, O’Hara is being honored.
Also, as a tribute to him, a poetry festival took place in Fire Island Pines on July 12 to celebrate his life and work. There were readings by a group of noted poets of their own poems and O’Hara’s. One of the poets who read is a friend of mine, Kirby Congdon, who told me about the event.
Congratulations to Andrew Berman, of G.V.S.H.P., for his dedication to the preservation of our local history.
June Hildebrand Abrams
Some taxing questions…
To The Editor:
First of all, let me say that except for a small sales tax to help for the infrastructure and educational systems, I am opposed to taxation of property and income. I feel that all citizens are born with sovereign rights, and as sovereign citizens, we have the right to determine the distribution of the sweat of our labor, and that government is only entitled to those drops we say they are entitled to and not one drop more.
However, with the extortive threats of seizure of property and imprisonment, we have no choice but to let this creepy system creep on. If, however, we insist on electing and re-electing the same greedy old extortionists and pirates that we call Democrats and Republicans, shouldn’t we be just as insistent that access to adequate food, clothing, shelter and healthcare be the foremost and absolute rights of the taxed?
Jerry The Peddler
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