Lessons: Selected Poems
Joel Oppenheimer was a student of Charles Olson at the original Black Mountain College, a fixture in New York’s West Village, and a lover of the NY Mets. His work embraces the taunt line of W. C .Williams. Lessons returns the work of this essential American poet to print.
“No one else speaks with his benevolence and humor and still touches me at the depths of my own fear and love. I think his poems are a Godsend to us all.”
—Hayden Carruth
“Oppenheimer was an immense and buoyant influence on the poesy of my contemporaries and me.”
—Andrei Codrescu
Joel Oppenheimer (1930 - 1988) published more than a dozen books of poetry.
Joel Oppenheimer: Joel Oppenheimer (1930 - 1988) was an American poet associated with both the Black Mountain poets and the New York School. He served as the first director of the St. Marks Poetry Project and was also well-known for his columns in the Village Voice (1969-1984).
