Rereading Frank O’Hara’s “I Do This, I Do That” Poems: Consumption and Modern Urban Life

Rereading Frank O’Hara’s “I Do This, I Do That” Poems: Consumption and Modern Urban Life

Frank O’Hara’s “I do this, I do that” poems in Lunch Poems (1964) do not represent conventionally anticipated topics or styles in modern poetry. The topic is far from the crisis of modern civilization and the style is far less poetic due to its informality and colloquialism. The poems instead focus on the autobiographical speaker’s observations, thoughts, and memories in fragments while he walks through New York City streets at lunchtime. Accordingly, the speaker’s activities have frequently been considered not “serious” enough to be a main subject although they define the characteristics of O’Hara’s poetry. Yet this article argues that the speaker’s activities, particularly his consumption, serve as a conduit for the expression of the speaker’s personhood, perspective on life and cosmopolitan attitude. In this argument, “The Day Lady Died” and “A Step Away from Them” will be examined primarily along with “Adieu to Norman, Bon Jour to Joan and Jean-Paul” and “Steps.”