Also a Poet
{{Short description|2022 book by Ada Calhoun}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me
| image = Also a Poet (Ada Calhoun).jpg
| border = yes
| alt =
| caption = First edition cover
| author = Ada Calhoun
| audio_read_by =
| cover_artist =
| country = United States
| language = English
| subjects = {{hlist|Memoir|Frank O'Hara}}
| publisher = Grove Press
| pub_date = June 14, 2022
| media_type = Print (Hardcover)
| pages = 272
| awards =
| isbn = 978-0-8021-5978-6
| dewey = 070.92
| congress = PN4874.C223 A3 2022
}}
Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me is a 2022 memoir by Ada Calhoun. It explores Calhoun's relationship with her father, the art critic Peter Schjeldahl, as well as their shared interest in the poet Frank O'Hara. The book was published on June 14, 2022, by Grove Press.{{cite web |url=https://groveatlantic.com/book/also-a-poet/ |publisher=Grove Atlantic |title=Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me}}
Overview
Also a Poet is a memoir by Calhoun about her relationship with her father, as well as their love for the poet Frank O'Hara. The inspiration for the project came when Calhoun discovered interviews her father had done with O'Hara for a never-completed biography project. As an O'Hara fan herself, Calhoun decides to pick up where Schjeldal left off, though she quickly runs into similar issues with the O'Hara estate.{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/06/17/ada-calhoun-frank-ohara-peter-schjeldahl/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Ada Calhoun comes to terms with a neglectful father in 'Also a Poet' |date=17 June 2022}} The book combines literary history with a personal narrative about the complexities of parental-child relationships to tell parallel but related stories concerning the three main figures.
Like she has with other books, Calhoun also included in the backmatter a corresponding playlist.{{cite web |url=https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4d4FTOQrQBp3C2F7GfWhaC |title=Also a Poet Playlist}} She supported the book with a major U.S. tour.{{cite web |url=https://www.adacalhoun.com/appearances |title=Appearances}}
Reception
Also a Poet has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, according to the review-aggregation website Book Marks.{{cite web |url=https://bookmarks.reviews/reviews/also-a-poet-frank-ohara-my-father-and-me/ |newspaper=Book Marks |title=Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me}} As of August 2023, it has a 4.07/5 star rating on GoodReads.{{cite web |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/59577177-also-a-poet?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=3PN0TVmV0d&rank=1 |newspaper=GoodReads |title=Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me}}
Prior to publication, the book landed five starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews,{{cite web |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ada-calhoun/also-a-poet/ |newspaper=Kirkus Reviews |title=ALSO A POET: FRANK O'HARA, MY FATHER, AND ME |date=14 June 2022}} Publishers Weekly,{{cite web |url=https://publishersweekly.com/978-0-8021-5978-6 |newspaper=Publishers Weekly |title=Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me |date=June 2022}} Booklist,{{cite web |url=https://www.booklistonline.com/Also-a-Poet-Frank-O-Hara-My-Father-and-Me-Calhoun-Ada/pid=9759144 |newspaper=Booklist |title=Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me |date=June 2022}} Library Journal,{{cite web |url=https://www.libraryjournal.com/review/also-a-poet-frank-ohara-my-father-and-me-2137057 |newspaper=Library Journal |title=Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me |date=1 April 2022}} and BookPage.{{cite web |url=https://www.bookpage.com/reviews/also-poet-ada-calhoun-book-review/ |newspaper=BookPage |title=Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me}} Shelf Awareness called the memoir, "Deceptively tender and cleverly conceived."{{cite web |url=https://www.shelf-awareness.com/sar-issue.html?issue=1127#m19856 |newspaper=Shelf Awareness |title=Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me}} Tom Hanks, Susannah Cahalan, Alysia Abbott, and Robert Kolker also provided blurbs.
Also a Poet was covered widely across most major news outlets. The New York Times Book Review coverage by Alexandra Jacobs called the book, "A grand slam of a new memoir . . . It's a big valentine to New York City past and present, and a contribution to literary scholarship, molten with soul."{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/14/books/review-also-a-poet-ada-calhoun-frank-o-hara-peter-schjeldahl.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=In 'Also a Poet,' a Search for Frank O'Hara and for Peace With Dad |date=14 June 2022}} Calhoun was also profiled by The New York Times around publication.{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/09/books/ada-calhoun-book-frank-ohara.html |newspaper=The New York Times |title=A Daughter, Her Father and the Long-Gone Poet Who Brought Them Together |date=9 June 2022}} The Washington Post dubbed the book, "Brave, blistering . . . Fierce, dissonant, yet compelling"{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/06/17/ada-calhoun-frank-ohara-peter-schjeldahl/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Ada Calhoun comes to terms with a neglectful father in 'Also a Poet' |date=17 June 2022}} and The Boston Globe review was similarly positive: "A scintillating work of personal quest and cultural history . . . As Calhoun's earlier books attest, she's a hell of an observer, writing with flair and putting herself on a tightwire, a high-risk gamble that mostly results in high rewards."{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/06/17/arts/daughters-tale-also-poet/ |newspaper=The Boston Globe |title=A daughter's tale in 'Also a Poet' |date=17 June 2022}} Vogue ran an excerpt from the book.{{cite web |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/ada-calhoun-also-a-poet-essay |newspaper=Vogue |title=For One Writer, Creativity and Domesticity Have Always Been At Odds |date=31 May 2022}} The Los Angeles Book Review said the book was, "an unanticipated investigation into the powers of literary estates to determine what, when, and how we read."{{cite web |url=https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/private-domain-on-ada-calhouns-also-a-poet/ |newspaper=Los Angeles Book Review |title=Private Domain: On Ada Calhoun's "Also a Poet |date=21 November 2022}} Further praise came from Ploughshares,{{cite web |url=https://blog.pshares.org/also-a-poets-exploration-of-not-being-there/ |newspaper=Ploughshares |title=Also a Poet's Exploration of Not Being There |date=16 June 2022}} The New Republic,{{cite web |url=https://newrepublic.com/article/167099/growing-frank-ohara-ada-calhoun-book-review |newspaper=The New Republic |title=Growing Up With Frank O'Hara |date=21 July 2022}} Shondaland,{{cite web |url=https://www.shondaland.com/inspire/books/a40410755/the-pure-poetry-of-ada-calhouns-prose/ |newspaper=Shondaland |title=The Pure Poetry of Ada Calhoun's Prose |date=27 June 2022}} and Town & Country.{{cite web |url=https://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/g40118798/best-summer-beach-reads-2022/ |newspaper=Town & Country |title=The 33 Must-Read Books of Summer 2022 |date=10 June 2022}} Jenna Bush Hager also featured the book on The Today Show as one of her favorite summer reads.{{cite web |url=https://www.today.com/video/jenna-bush-hager-has-your-next-memoir-to-read-this-summer-144814661778 |newspaper=The Today Show |title=Jenna Bush Hager has your next memoir to read this summer |date=26 July 2022}}
The book was longlisted for the 2023 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction{{cite web |url=https://www.ala.org/rusa/awards/carnegie-medals/2023-winners |publisher=American Library Association |title=2023 Winners |date=3 October 2022}} and named a July 2022 Indie Next Pick.{{cite web |url=https://www.bookweb.org/news/july-2022-indie-next-list-preview-1628043 |publisher=American Booksellers Association |title=The July 2022 Indie Next List Preview |date=1 June 2022}} It was also included on the Oprah Daily Summer 2022 Best Book of the Year (So Far) list{{cite web |url=https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/books/g40444804/best-books-of-2022-so-far/ |newspaper=Oprah Daily |title=2022 So Far Has Given Us These Great Reads You Don't Want to Miss |date=23 August 2022}} and on the Best Book of the Year lists for the New York Times,{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/11/22/books/notable-books.html |newspaper=New York Times |title=100 Notable Books of 2022 |date=22 November 2022}} The Paris Review,{{cite web |url=https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2022/12/16/what-the-paris-review-staff-read-in-2022/ |newspaper=The Paris Review |title=What the Paris Review Staff Read in 2022 |date=16 December 2022}} Washington Post,{{cite web |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2022/11/17/best-nonfiction/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=50 notable works of nonfiction |date=17 November 2022}} Vogue,{{cite web |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/best-books-2022 |newspaper=Vogue |title=The Best Books of 2022 So Far |date=8 November 2022}} PBS NewsHour,{{cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/literary-critics-give-their-takes-on-the-best-of-books-of-2022 |newspaper=PBS NewsHour |title=Literary Critics Give Their Takes on the Best Books of 2022 |date=15 December 2022}} Kirkus Reviews, BookPage, Audible,{{cite web |url=https://www.audible.com/blog/best-of-the-year-editorial-2022?source_code=BLGALC6401115220031?ref=a_hp_c1_zing_0_boty-2022&ref=a_hp_c1_zing_0&pf_rd_p=15eec925-d352-4905-b39a-383d9e4f0bed&pf_rd_r=AZGTEYK6WN73KJQWXGK5https://www.audible.com/blog/best-of-the-year-editorial-2022?source_code=BLGALC6401115220031?ref=a_hp_c1_zing_0_boty-2022&ref=a_hp_c1_zing_0&pf_rd_p=15eec925-d352-4905-b39a-383d9e4f0bed&pf_rd_r=AZGTEYK6WN73KJQWXGK5 |newspaper=Audible |title=Best of the Year 2022}} Hudson News,{{cite web |url=https://www.hudsongroup.com/press_release/2022-11-22/hudson-reveals-its-best-books-2022 |newspaper=Hudson News |title=Hudson Reveals Its Best Books of 2022 |date=12 November 2022}} Esquire,{{cite web |url=https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/books/g40188955/best-books-summer-2022/ |newspaper=Esquire |title=The 20 Best Books of Summer 2022 |date=24 June 2022}} Chicago Public Library,{{cite web |url=https://www.chipublib.org/news/cpl-best-of-the-best-books-2022/ |newspaper=Chicago Public Library |title=CPL Best of the Best Books 2022 |date=21 November 2022}} Oprah Daily, NPR's Fresh Air,{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/11/30/1139749381/best-books-2022-maureen-corrigan-fresh-air |newspaper=NPR |title=Maureen Corrigan's favorite books of the year: 10 disparate reads for a hectic 2022 |date=30 November 2022}} Apple Books, Literary Hub,{{cite web |url=https://lithub.com/the-ultimate-best-books-of-2022-list/ |newspaper=Literary Hub |title=The Ultimate Best Books of 2022 List |date=19 December 2022}} and Publishers Lunch.
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://groveatlantic.com/book/also-a-poet/Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me at Grove Atlantic (official book site)]
- [https://www.adacalhoun.com/also-a-poet Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me at Author's official website]
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