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    The Last Avant-Garde

    The Making of the New York School of Poets

    Author David Lehman
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    Paperback
    $25.00 US
    Knopf | Anchor
    On sale Nov 09, 1999 | 448 Pages | 9780385495332
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    A richly detailed portrait of the founders of the New York art culture scene, The Last Avant-Garde provides a historical and personal perspective on an artistic movement that changed the world. From Frank O'Hara and John Ashbery to Jane Freilicher and Fairfield Porter, this colorful book brings to life the extraordinary creative ferment of the time and place, how these personal friendships affected the art itself and the powerful influence that a group of visual artists had on the literary efforts of the New York School.
    David Lehman is the author of Sign of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man, several books of poetry, and is Series Editor of The Best American Poetry. His essays, poems, and reviews have appeared in all the major literary publications, from the Times Literary Supplement, to The New Yorker to The Paris Review. He is the recipient of numerous prizes and fellowships, including a Guggenheim and the Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institution of Arts and Letters. He lives in New York City. View titles by David Lehman
    "[A] jaunty and readable account of artisitc friendship and collaboration in Manhattan in the 1950s and early '60s...Lehman tells this story with spirit." --The New York Times Book Review

    "A highly readable and fittingly hybridized book: part cultural history, part speculative essay, part literary criticism, part biography...[Lehman] weaves narrative strands together with pertinent and lucid appreciation of the poetry." --    The New York Observer

    "Lehman skillfully waeves biographical sketches into his account of the poets' work and friendships...Makes a vivid, substantial constribution to our picture of New York in the '50s." --San Francisco Chronicle

    About

    A richly detailed portrait of the founders of the New York art culture scene, The Last Avant-Garde provides a historical and personal perspective on an artistic movement that changed the world. From Frank O'Hara and John Ashbery to Jane Freilicher and Fairfield Porter, this colorful book brings to life the extraordinary creative ferment of the time and place, how these personal friendships affected the art itself and the powerful influence that a group of visual artists had on the literary efforts of the New York School.

    Author

    David Lehman is the author of Sign of the Times: Deconstruction and the Fall of Paul de Man, several books of poetry, and is Series Editor of The Best American Poetry. His essays, poems, and reviews have appeared in all the major literary publications, from the Times Literary Supplement, to The New Yorker to The Paris Review. He is the recipient of numerous prizes and fellowships, including a Guggenheim and the Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institution of Arts and Letters. He lives in New York City. View titles by David Lehman

    Praise

    "[A] jaunty and readable account of artisitc friendship and collaboration in Manhattan in the 1950s and early '60s...Lehman tells this story with spirit." --The New York Times Book Review

    "A highly readable and fittingly hybridized book: part cultural history, part speculative essay, part literary criticism, part biography...[Lehman] weaves narrative strands together with pertinent and lucid appreciation of the poetry." --    The New York Observer

    "Lehman skillfully waeves biographical sketches into his account of the poets' work and friendships...Makes a vivid, substantial constribution to our picture of New York in the '50s." --San Francisco Chronicle

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