Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me

"A sweeping investigation of familial bonds in this mesmerizing work from journalist Calhoun ..."

"That's difficult and brave to watch ..."

"But it's also a familiar enough design: a literary biography (here, wrapped up in a second biography) mashed up with confessional vignettes from the author's own life, as successfully popularized over the past decade by writers such as Olivia Laing and Maggie Nelson ..."

"A fascinating memoir ..."

"Fluidly morphing, magnetically candid ..."

"As for readers awaiting the definitive Frank O'Hara treatment, they'll find Also a Poet to be an engrossing placeholder."

"The unexpected convergence of the challenging O'Hara book project and her father's sudden decline provide Calhoun with a singular perspective on the timeless issues of family relationships, most especially the vulnerabilities of following in a father's eminent footsteps and the elusive possibility of ever fully understanding our parents."

"A generous writer, Calhoun spends much of Also giving others the benefit of the doubt."

"As Calhoun's earlier books attest, she's a hell of an observer, writing with flair and putting herself on a tightwire, a high-risk gamble that mostly results in high rewards."

"It's a strange triangulation, inevitably somewhat sidelining the artist whom longtime lover Joe LeSueur called, after O'Hara's funeral, 'our Apollinaire' ..."