'The Day Lady Died' by Frank O'Hara
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It is 12:20 in New York a Friday
three days after Bastille day, yes
it is 1959 and I go get a shoeshine
because I will get off the 4:19 in Easthampton
at 7:15 and then go straight to dinner
and I don't know the people who will feed meI walk up the muggy street beginning to sun
and have a hamburger and a malted and buy
an ugly NEW WORLD WRITING to see what the poets
in Ghana are doing these daysI go on to the bank
and Miss Stillwagon (first name Linda I once heard)
doesn't even look up my balance for once in her life
and in the GOLDEN GRIFFIN I get a little Verlaine
for Patsy with drawings by Bonnard although I do
think of Hesiod, trans. Richmond Lattimore or
Brendan Behan's new play or Le Balcon or Les Ngres
of Genet, but I don't, I stick with Verlaine
after practically going to sleep with quandarinessand for Mike I just stroll into the PARK LANE
Liquor Store and ask for a bottle of Strega and
then I go back where I came from to 6th Avenue
and the tobacconist in the Ziegfeld Theatre and
casually ask for a carton of Gauloises and a carton
of Picayunes, and a NEW YORK POST with her face on itand I am sweating a lot by now and thinking of
leaning on the john door in the 5 SPOT
while she whispered a song along the keyboard
to Mal Waldron and everyone and I stopped breathing
Editor 1 Interpretation
"The Day Lady Died" by Frank O'Hara
What makes a poem great? Is it the depth of emotion it evokes? Is it the vivid imagery it conjures up in the reader’s mind? Or is it the way it captures a moment in time and space with such accuracy that it becomes a snapshot of history? Frank O’Hara’s “The Day Lady Died” does all of these things and more, making it one of the most important poems of the 20th century.
At first glance, the poem appears to be a simple description of a day in the life of the speaker, who happens to be the author himself. He starts by telling us what time it is – 12:20 pm – and where he is – on the streets of New York City. He then goes on to describe the various things he sees and hears, from a “brownstone” building to a “Freightliner” truck to a “Negro” boy. It’s all very mundane and ordinary, until the last line of the first stanza: “Frank O’Hara, / New York Poet, / and he’s dead.”
Who is dead? At first, we don’t know. But the second stanza gives us the answer: it’s Billie Holiday, the legendary jazz singer, who died on July 17, 1959. O’Hara tells us that he heard the news while he was walking down the street, and that it hit him hard. He describes “staggering” and “almost collapsing” as he tried to process the news. And then, in typical O’Hara fashion, he moves on to something else: buying a pack of cigarettes.
This sudden shift in tone and subject matter is what makes “The Day Lady Died” so remarkable. O’Hara doesn’t dwell on Holiday’s death or try to eulogize her in any way. Instead, he uses it as a springboard for a stream-of-consciousness meditation on life, death, art, and the passage of time. He shifts seamlessly from the personal to the universal, from the mundane to the profound, and from the joyful to the sorrowful.
Consider the third stanza, where O’Hara muses on the nature of art and its relationship to mortality:
with the absolute heart of the poem
butchered out of their own bodies good to
eat a thousand years.
Here, O’Hara suggests that the essence of a poem – its “absolute heart” – is something that is sacrificed by the poet, who must give a piece of himself in order to create it. And yet, this sacrifice is necessary and worthwhile, because it allows the poem to transcend time and become something that can be enjoyed and appreciated for centuries to come. It’s a powerful and poignant statement, one that speaks to the universal human longing for immortality.
But what about the second half of that stanza, where O’Hara describes the bodies of poets as being “good to eat a thousand years”? What does that mean? Is he suggesting that poets are cannibals, or that their bodies are somehow preserved for eternity? It’s a strange and somewhat unsettling image, but it’s also one that speaks to O’Hara’s dark sense of humor and his willingness to play with language and ideas.
This willingness to embrace ambiguity and contradiction is one of the hallmarks of O’Hara’s poetry, and it’s on full display in “The Day Lady Died”. Take the fourth stanza, for example, where he describes the various things he has done that day:
I have been to lots of parties
and acted perfectly disgraceful
but I never actually collapsed
oh Billie Billie
On the surface, this seems like a straightforward confession of youthful hedonism: O’Hara has been partying and misbehaving, but he hasn’t completely lost control. But the repetition of “Billie Billie” at the end hints at a deeper connection between the speaker’s experiences and those of the deceased singer. Perhaps O’Hara is suggesting that his own wild behavior is a kind of homage to Billie Holiday’s rebellious spirit, or that both he and Holiday are rebels who refuse to conform to societal norms.
Of course, all of this is speculation. Like any great work of art, “The Day Lady Died” resists easy interpretation and invites multiple readings. What’s clear, though, is that O’Hara was a master of language and a keen observer of the world around him. He had an uncanny ability to capture the rhythms and textures of everyday life, and to imbue even the most mundane details with a sense of significance and wonder.
Consider the final stanza of the poem, where O’Hara lists the various places he has been and the things he has seen that day:
and I am sweating a lot by now and thinking of
leaning on the john door in the 5 SPOT
while she whispered a song along the keyboard
to Mal Waldron and everyone and I stopped breathing
Here, O’Hara takes us inside the legendary jazz club the 5 Spot, where he has apparently witnessed Billie Holiday performing with pianist Mal Waldron. The image of the speaker leaning on the bathroom door and listening to Holiday’s voice is a powerful one, evoking both intimacy and distance, joy and sorrow, life and death. And the final line – “and I stopped breathing” – is a perfect encapsulation of the emotional impact that Holiday’s death had on O’Hara and on the world at large.
In the end, “The Day Lady Died” is more than just a poem about a famous singer’s passing. It’s a meditation on the fleeting nature of life and the power of art to transcend that transience. It’s a snapshot of a specific moment in time and space, but it’s also a timeless work of literature that continues to resonate with readers and listeners today. And it’s a testament to the genius of Frank O’Hara, one of the most important poets of the 20th century, whose legacy lives on through his words and his art.
Editor 2 Analysis and Explanation
The Day Lady Died: A Masterpiece of Modern Poetry
Frank O'Hara's "The Day Lady Died" is a masterpiece of modern poetry that captures the essence of a moment in time. The poem is a tribute to the legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday, who died on July 17, 1959. O'Hara, who was a curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, wrote the poem on the same day that Holiday died. The poem is a snapshot of a day in the life of the poet, as he goes about his daily routine, while the news of Holiday's death slowly sinks in.
The poem is written in free verse, with no set rhyme or meter. It is a stream-of-consciousness narrative that captures the poet's thoughts and feelings as he goes about his day. The poem is divided into three stanzas, each of which captures a different aspect of the poet's day. The first stanza describes the poet's morning routine, as he walks down the streets of New York City, observing the people and the buildings around him. The second stanza describes the poet's lunch break, as he visits a bookstore and buys a book of poems by Apollinaire. The third stanza describes the poet's evening routine, as he goes to a party and drinks with his friends.
The poem is full of vivid imagery and sensory details that bring the city to life. O'Hara describes the "neon in daylight" and the "traffic's insistent quiver" as he walks down the street. He observes the "white buildings" and the "black people" around him, and he marvels at the "sky-blue sky" above. The poem is a celebration of the beauty and vitality of the city, even in the face of tragedy.
The poem is also a tribute to Billie Holiday, who was a beloved figure in the world of jazz. O'Hara describes her as "beautiful and dying" and "the first to die of jazz." He remembers her voice, which was "like a soprano saxophone" and her songs, which were "full of tears and heartbreak." The poem is a lament for the loss of a great artist, and a celebration of her life and legacy.
The poem is also a reflection on the nature of art and creativity. O'Hara writes, "I am waiting / for inspiration to strike / me like a match." He sees art as something that comes from within, something that cannot be forced or manufactured. He celebrates the spontaneity and unpredictability of the creative process, and he recognizes that great art often comes from moments of inspiration and insight.
Overall, "The Day Lady Died" is a powerful and moving poem that captures the essence of a moment in time. It is a tribute to Billie Holiday, a celebration of the city, and a reflection on the nature of art and creativity. O'Hara's use of free verse and stream-of-consciousness narrative creates a sense of immediacy and intimacy, as if the reader is experiencing the poet's thoughts and feelings in real time. The poem is a testament to the power of poetry to capture the beauty and complexity of life, and to help us make sense of the world around us.
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