James Schuyler

James Schuyler

James Schuyler (1923–1991) was a preeminent figure in the celebrated New York School of poets. He grew up in Washington, D.C., and near Buffalo, New York. After World War II, he made his way to Italy, where he served for a time as W.H. Auden’s secretary. His books include two other novels, A Nest of Ninnies (written with John Ashbery) and Alfred and Guinevere (also published by NYRB Classics), as well as numerous volumes of poetry.

From the Review

November 7, 1985: Fauré Second Piano Quartet (poem)

August 17, 1978: Payne Whitney Poems (poem)

From New York Review Books

What's For Dinner? A bittersweet comedy of "group therapy manners" about cracking up and putting the pieces back together from the writer John Ashbery called "America's greatest poet."

Alfred and Guinevere Schuyler has a pitch-perfect ear for the children's voices, and the story, told entirely through snatches of dialogue and passages from Guinevere's diary, is a tour de force of comic and poetic invention.