Welcome to Poem of the Day – Why I Am Not a Painter by Frank O’Hara.
“Why I Am Not a Painter” is a short yet profound poem by Frank O’Hara, first published in 1957 as part of his collection Lunch Poems. O’Hara, a leading figure in the New York School of poets, is known for his spontaneous, conversational style and his ability to capture fleeting moments with vibrant energy. This particular poem reflects O’Hara’s sharp wit, playful tone, and deep insight into the creative process. In it, O’Hara explores the differences between poetry and painting as forms of artistic expression, focusing on the distinct ways in which each medium captures and reflects the world. Through humor, irony, and a subtle philosophical meditation, O’Hara uses his personal experience to comment on the nature of art, creativity, and self-expression.
In this essay, we will explore the central themes of Why I Am Not a Painter, analyzing the poem’s structure, language, and imagery. We will also examine how O’Hara’s use of humor and irony reveals a deeper reflection on the creative process and the challenges inherent in the act of making art.
Why I Am Not a Painter
I am not a painter, I am a poet.
Why? I think I would rather be
a painter, but I am not. Well,
for instance, Mike Goldberg
is starting a painting. I drop in.
“Sit down and have a drink” he
says. I drink; we drink. I look
up. “You have SARDINES in it.”
“Yes, it needed something there.”
“Oh.” I go and the days go by
and I drop in again. The painting
is going on, and I go, and the days
go by. I drop in. The painting is
finished. “Where’s SARDINES?”
All that’s left is just
letters, “It was too much,” Mike says.
But me? One day I am thinking of
a color: orange. I write a line
about orange. Pretty soon it is a
whole page of words, not lines.
Then another page. There should be
so much more, not of orange, of
words, of how terrible orange is
and life. Days go by. It is even in
prose, I am a real poet. My poem
is finished and I haven’t mentioned
orange yet. It’s twelve poems, I call
it ORANGES. And one day in a gallery
I see Mike’s painting, called SARDINES.
Why I Am Not a Painter Poem Explanation
“Why I Am Not a Painter” begins with O’Hara’s humorous and self-deprecating statement: “I am not a painter, I am a poet.” This simple declaration sets the tone for the poem, signaling that the poem is a reflection on the differences between writing and painting. The poem, however, quickly becomes more than just an exploration of the creative divide between these two art forms. It also serves as a meditation on the difficulty of translating one’s internal world into an external medium and the tension between conceptualization and execution in art.
The poem’s structure is loose and free, mirroring the spontaneous, almost offhand quality of O’Hara’s poetic voice. He recounts an anecdote about a conversation with his friend, the painter John Button, in which Button expresses his frustrations with the process of painting. O’Hara contrasts this with his own creative process, ultimately drawing the conclusion that poetry, for him, provides a better outlet for his personal expression than painting. The poem thus functions as both a narrative of a specific encounter and a broader commentary on the philosophical nature of art.
Themes of the Poem
1. The Differences Between Poetry and Painting
At its core, Why I Am Not a Painter explores the fundamental differences between poetry and painting as artistic mediums. The poem opens with O’Hara’s personal distinction: “I am not a painter, I am a poet.” O’Hara humorously reflects on the work of his friend, John Button, a painter who is engaged in the act of creating a painting. Button’s work is described as a process of constant change, revision, and confusion—qualities that O’Hara contrasts with his own relatively straightforward process of writing poetry.
The key difference that emerges between the two artists is the sense of fluidity and indeterminacy that characterizes Button’s painting. In the poem, Button is depicted as uncertain, as the painting he is working on goes through numerous stages, constantly changing as he attempts to capture his vision. This contrasts with the more immediate, less mutable nature of poetry, in which O’Hara describes himself as quickly reaching a conclusion—”I say it, and it’s done.”
O’Hara uses this difference to emphasize the distinct nature of each medium: painting, for Button, is a visual and iterative process that involves a series of uncertain decisions, while poetry for O’Hara seems to be a more controlled form of expression. The poet writes and revises, but the act of writing appears more fixed and intentional, whereas the painter’s work is described as being in a state of flux, always subject to change.
2. The Act of Creation: Uncertainty and Resolution
A central theme in Why I Am Not a Painter is the creative struggle and the inherent uncertainty involved in producing art. Through the figure of John Button, O’Hara emphasizes the torturous nature of artistic creation. Button’s painting is not a simple act of creation; it is a constant process of revision, frustration, and confusion. The painting changes shape as Button works on it, reflecting the difficulties artists face in translating their vision into tangible form. O’Hara writes:
This sentence introduces the idea of an incomplete work—Button is trying to depict a scene or an idea, but the picture is in flux, still being formed. The idea of a “man who eats his lunch” could seem like a simple, mundane subject, but it becomes a metaphor for the complexities of creation. Even the simplest subject matter requires multiple layers of thought, revision, and rethinking. O’Hara contrasts this with his own process of writing poetry, where he may start with a specific idea but can express it relatively quickly.
In O’Hara’s poetic world, words are more like instruments of expression—easier to handle, to shape into forms that capture thoughts and emotions. While poetry also involves revision, it does not seem as bound by the same constraints as painting. For O’Hara, the process of writing poetry feels more resolute—once the words are on the page, they exist in a concrete form. In contrast, Button’s painting is depicted as an ongoing experiment, one that remains unstable, unresolved.
3. The Role of Self-Expression
Another important theme in the poem is self-expression. O’Hara’s differentiation between painting and poetry also extends to the way each medium serves as an outlet for personal expression. For O’Hara, poetry is a way of expressing his internal thoughts and emotions in a direct manner. He emphasizes how quickly he is able to get his ideas on paper, suggesting a more immediate and spontaneous connection between thought and expression.
However, in Button’s world, this connection is not so simple. Button’s frustrations with his painting reveal that he is working through a more complex relationship with self-expression. His painting is not just about rendering an image; it is a way of grappling with deeper meanings and emotions. O’Hara notes that Button’s subject is the act of eating lunch, a mundane, everyday activity, yet for the painter, this ordinary scene is imbued with layers of meaning, as it becomes the subject of deep, iterative exploration.
In the poem, O’Hara hints that the act of painting, for Button, is a process of discovery rather than immediate expression. While O’Hara can directly express his thoughts through poetry, Button’s creative act involves uncovering the deeper significance of a scene or idea. Thus, the poem reflects two different approaches to self-expression—one more immediate, the other more exploratory and uncertain.
4. The Tension Between Words and Visual Representation
A final theme that emerges in Why I Am Not a Painter is the tension between words and visual representation. O’Hara plays with the idea that words and images are two different ways of capturing reality. The poem demonstrates that while both poetry and painting can be used to express complex thoughts and emotions, each medium has its own unique limitations and possibilities.
In this sense, O’Hara’s distinction between poetry and painting serves as a metaphor for the broader tension between the verbal and the visual. Words are linear, direct, and abstract; they convey meaning through a shared system of language and understanding. In contrast, painting is bound by the physical world and engages the senses in a more immediate and spatial way. The process of painting, as O’Hara shows through Button’s work, is about translating visual experiences and emotions into forms that are open to interpretation. It is often messy, uncertain, and requires constant adjustment.
Through this contrast, O’Hara is able to reflect on the strengths and weaknesses of both forms. Poetry, for him, seems more immediate and direct, while painting, though powerful, is more fraught with uncertainty. In this sense, the poem is a reflection on the ways in which different artists negotiate the complexities of expression, capturing moments of insight and frustration in their chosen media.
Structure and Form
The structure of Why I Am Not a Painter mirrors the relaxed, informal tone of O’Hara’s poetry. Written in free verse, the poem flows without a fixed meter or rhyme scheme, allowing for a conversational quality that enhances the sense of spontaneity and immediacy. The lack of a rigid form reflects O’Hara’s belief in the organic nature of the creative process. The poem’s structure is fragmented, moving from one image or idea to another without clear transitions, much like the freewheeling, often fragmented nature of thought itself.
This structural looseness is also a reflection of O’Hara’s approach to poetry, which values intuition, playfulness, and the ability to capture moments of insight or observation. The casual tone of the poem, paired with its seemingly random shifts in thought, mirrors the spontaneous creativity that O’Hara associates with both poetry and painting.
Conclusion
Why I Am Not a Painter is a witty and reflective poem that explores the creative process through the lens of O’Hara’s distinction between poetry and painting. Through his comparison of his own work as a poet with the struggles of his friend John Button, O’Hara delves into the nature of artistic creation, the tension between self-expression and conceptualization, and the differences between verbal and visual representation. The poem’s humor, irony, and playful tone invite readers to reflect on the complexities of art, offering a nuanced exploration of how artists grapple with the act of creating and the ways in which their personal experiences shape their work.
At its heart, the poem is about the act of creation—whether through words or images—and the challenges that come with translating one’s inner world into an external form. O’Hara’s comparison between the two mediums ultimately suggests that, while the processes may differ, both are driven by the same fundamental impulse to make sense of the world and express the self. Why I Am Not a Painter thus serves as both a personal reflection on the creative process and a broader commentary on the nature of art itself.
