Art and Experience

In comparing the painting of Mike Goldberg's "SARDINES" with the writing of the poem "ORANGES," "Why I Am Not a Painter" presents the creation of both poetry and painting as processes that are rooted in normal, everyday experience. Certainly, there is nothing extraordinary about O'Hara idly dropping in on Goldberg as he works on his painting "SARDINES." Nor is there anything remarkable in Goldberg interrupting his work to have a drink with his friend. But what one senses beneath the surface is that O'Hara's visit, far from being an imposition, is in fact welcomed as a possible source of inspiration. Unlike the cliched image of the temperamental artist working in solitude, Goldberg is more like a gracious host at a cocktail party, welcoming his guest and whatever ideas and conversation he may bring with him.

O'Hara begins work on the poem "ORANGES" with a similarly casual...