John Ashbery is arguably the greatest American poet of the latter half of the 20th century, and this is a collection of his finest work. After reading the first half of this collection I wasn’t thinking about giving it a high rating, due to the annoying way he associates non-related things (and often using poor grammar). But that’s poetry, so I stuck with it. And I’m glad I did, because by the time the second half rolled around, Ashbery’s dissociative antics started to loosely make sense to me, and I found some of the best poems I’ve ever read. The meanings of his poems are so carefully wound inside paradoxes, oxymorons, and uncanny metaphors that they may require a second reading to fully grasp his message. First time readers should be aware of the surreal, illogical befuddlement that Ashbery obviously tries to trick his readers with. He reminds me of Ginsberg in a lot of ways, though certainly more disciplined.
The ones I enjoyed the most are:
Daffy Duck in Hollywood
Self Portrait in A Convex Mirror
Pyrography
Paradoxes and Oxymorons
Whatever It Is, Wherever You Are
A Wave
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