Performances and Display: Frank O’Hara and Friends

To coincide with the ICA Symposium: Frank O’Hara and Friends, rare and limited edition O’Hara items from The Poetry Library’s collections are on display in the ICA Studio for one day only.

Items include collaborations with Joe Brainard, William Burroughs, Leroi Jones (Amiri Baraka), Larry Rivers, Alex Katz and Lee Harwood, all of whom were connected to the history of the ICA.

From the Selfie to the Street: Frank O’Hara and Film

Also on view in the Studio are a series of short films by poets that have been inspired by O’Hara’s work. Contributors include Anne Waldman, Charles Bernstein, Amy De’Ath and Richard Owens.

Poetry Readings

Between 6.30 and 8.30 pm, readings take place within the Studio space by Andrea Brady, Prue Chamberlain, Kayo Chingonyi, Sophie Robinson, Caitlin Docherty, Jeff Hilson and Joshua Clover.

Please note that the Studio has a limited capacity and if full there may be a short wait until a space is available. We hope accommodate all who wish to attend but cannot guarantee entry.

More rare and limited edition O'Hara items can be seen in The Poetry Library at Southbank Centre.

Andrea Brady teaches at Queen Mary University of London, where she runs the Centre for Poetry and the Archive of the Now. Her books of poetry include Dompteuse, Mutability, and Wildfire.

Prue Chamberlain is the co-writer of House of Mouse published by KFS Press. She is a lecturer in Creative Writing at Royal Holloway University.

Kayo Chingonyi is the author of two poetry pamphlets, Some Bright Elegance (Salt, 2012), and The Colour of James Brown's Scream (Akashic, 2016). He was Associate Poet at the ICA between Autumn 2015 and Spring 2016. His first full-length collection will be published by Chatto in 2017.

Joshua Clover is author of three poetry books as well as books on movies, music, and riots; he’s been translated into ten languages. He is a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California Davis.

Caitlín Doherty is a poet who lives between Cambridge and Munich. Her work is published by Tipped Press, Foule Press, and Critical Documents.

Jeff Hilson’s recent work includes Bird Bird (Landfill 2009), and In The Assarts (Veer Books, 2010). He also edited The Reality Street Book of Sonnets, and runs Xing the Line, a reading series based in London.

Sophie Robinson is the author of two volumes of poetry, a and the institute of our love in disrepair. She is a lecturer in poetry at the University of East Anglia.

Resources

Listen to an audio recording of John Ashbery in conversation with Peter Ackroyd at the ICA in the 1986, in which he discusses his relationship Frank O’Hara and the New York School of poets, on the British Library website.

Read an excerpt from Joe Brainard’s I Remember in this ICA Blog post from 2013.

Find out more on William S. Burroughs and Brion Gysin works shown in the Paperwork: A Brief History of Artists’ Scrapbooks exhibition at the ICA in 2014

Read about Amiri Baraka’s poetry and activism in this ICA Blog post from 2014 by Sean Bonney.

Delve into Alex Katz’ writing about New York, Frank O’Hara and the ICA.