Your Name Here: Poems

By: John Ashbery

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Synopsis: A mesmerizing, endlessly entertaining collection that shows John Ashbery at his most exuberant, honest, and inviting John Ashbery&’s nineteenth original collection of poetry, first published in 2000, might be one of the &“Ashberyest&” of his long and varied career. In these poems, the slippery pronouns (who is speaking, who is being spoken to?), the high-low allusions (Daffy Duck, please meet Rimbaud), and the twists of context (where are we anyway, and what&’s happening here?) that have long been hallmarks of Ashbery&’s poetry are on full, rambunctious display. Beginning with the book&’s very title, Ashbery invites the reader into the world of his poetry like never before; each poem can be read as a postcard to experiences that could be yours, his, or anyone&’s. And yet the poems in Your Name Here are also personal and particular. The collection is dedicated to an old friend, and in the well-known &“History of My Life,&” Ashbery strikes a rare autobiographical chord. Some of the best-known poems of Ashbery&’s later career are here, including &“Not You Again,&” &“Crossroads in the Past,&” and &“They Don&’t Just Go Away, Either.&” Polyphonic, deeply honest, and frequently very funny, Your Name Here is both wonder filled and wonderful.