Also a Poet

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. 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. 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. She supported the book with a major U.S. tour. Reception Also a Poet has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, according to the review-aggregation website Book Marks. As of August 2023, it has a 4.07/5 star rating on GoodReads.