John Ashbery reads "Fear of Death," May 1973 in San Francisco — The Poetry Center

Full-program video (with downloadable audio) at Poetry Center Digital Archive: https://diva.sfsu.edu/collections/poe...

John Ashbery reads his poem "Fear of Death," May 16, 1973, at the San Francisco Museum of Art (pre-SFMOMA), as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of The Poetry Center, San Francisco State University.

"The poet is mustached, black leather-jacketed, in striking profile.... There’s a David Smith-ish metal construction sculpture in the background, directly behind the poet. There’s a mic to be tapped for percussion. There is smoking on the premises, with an uncanny houselights-out legerdemain when the match ignites." (from "For Mnemosyne" at SFMOMA, Open Space https://openspace.sfmoma.org/2016/10/...)

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