Why I Am Not a Painter
Here, the narrator is writing about how he would rather be a painter than a poet. Over the course of the poem, the narrator describes going to visit his friend Mike, who is a painter, and watching him paint a new picture while the narrator writes a poem. At the end, he sees Mike's painting in a gallery and realizes they have both named their works after things that don't appear in them.
Poem [Lana Turner Has Collapsed!]
The narrator narrates a time that he was walking down the street in the rain and snow to meet a friend when he sees a headline about how Lana Turner has collapsed. The narrator comments that this has never happened to him and that he hopes Lana Turner gets up because everyone loves her.
For an in-depth summary and analysis of this poem, see our ClassicNote guide.
Music
This is a surreal poem about New York City at Christmas time. The style in which it is written evokes the title as the narrator muses about and travels to various places in New York City.
