Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.
- Do you find the speaker's hip attitude and intellectual creds appealing or off-putting?
- Have you seen a performance so amazing that you literally forgot to breathe?
- Why does O'Hara capitalize the name of brands, stores, and clubs?
- Can you think of a modern-day equivalent to Billie Holiday's death?
- Be honest. Is this a real poem, or just a description of someone's day put into verse? What, if anything, makes it "poetic"?
- Why does the speaker sound so darned casual until the poem's final lines? Does he actually feel grief, and if so, how does he express it?