Almost Island note:
For readers less familiar with poetry, the famous Frank O’Hara poem whose circumstances are alluded to in this “tape essay” can be read here.
[A “tape-essay” by Tosa Motokiyu, Ojiu Norinaga, and Okura Kyojin—date and location unrecorded]
Tosa Motokiyu: We are gathered to talk about the nature of ‘A True Account of Talking to the Sun at Fire Island,’ a poem that is attributed to Frank O’Hara and one that is considered central to his great oeuvre.
Ojiu Norinaga: By “nature” of this poem we mean its authorship. Our thesis, so to speak, is that there is strong reason to suspect it was not written by Mr. O’Hara.
Okura Kyojin: Indeed, it is our proposal, let us say it at once, that it was written by his dear friend, Kenneth Koch, shortly after O’Hara’s death in a tragic accident on Fire Island—written in homage to the poet, its spurious attribution to him a strange and moving tribute to the poet’s memory.
TM: We realize this will be controversial.
ON: Well, not only controversial, but downright blasphemous to many!
OK: However, we hope the reader will bear with us, hear out our hypothesis, which is based, in part, on conversations we have had with central people “in the know,” as it were, and our putting of “two and two” together. I mean, of our putting certain very suspicious circumstantial clues together…