NewYorkName

The Name
The New York Poets have seemingly resisted the name “New York School of Poetry,” bestowed on them in 1961 by John Bernard Myers. By making them a “school,” rather than a “movement,” there was a suggestion of stasis rather than the fluidity and romanticism that the poets wished to reinforce in their work. Furthermore, few of the core poets felt ties to New York. Ashbery left New York City for Paris in 1955 and lived there for the next ten years—the highlight of the New York School. Schuyler spent the better part of his time in Maine and Southampton. However, O’Hara wrote profusely and intensely about the city (Lehman 28) and Guest fondly remarked that New York, “seemed like civilization [after] coming from the West Coast” (poetryfoundation). However, the name “New York School of Poetry” is not so much about the city. Rather, “New York” embodies a certain mindset to which the poet would like to be in or escape to (Lehman 28). The imagination is a means to escape, and the poet provides that vehicle.