Mike Goldberg's Why I M Not A Painter

The title of this particular Frank O'Hara poem is a direct reflection of its theme and overall meaning. The speaker of the poem, Frank, is recalling a memory he has of a particular moment in time that made him consider why he chooses to wire poetry over expressing himself through another artistic medium over the course of three free-verse stanzas. "Why I'm Not A Painter" is one of the many confessional poems to come out of New York School era of poetry.

At first glance, the dominant images in this poem are the oranges and the sardines; but more than that, it is not just the sardines and oranges themselves as the animal/food, but what they stand for. Mike Goldberg's painting does not include any sign or allusion to sardines, it is simply the title of the piece. Much like "ORANGES" is the title of O'Hara's collection of poems which can have nothing to do with oranges whatsoever. When we look deeper into the history of the New York School of Poets we are given clues as to what these two images--sardines and oranges--truly mean.
Mike Goldberg, the painter in this poem, was an abstract expressionist. It is well known that there was a certain kind of tension between the poets and the painters of the New York School movement that in some cases could have been described as jealousy. This tension stems from the battle between the philosophical expression in poetry, and the visual expression in paintings. From this poem alone there is no proof that this was the case between Goldberg and O'Hara, but knowing that history can help with an analytical