The songs we know best: John Ashbery's early life

"My grand party"

"The pleasant early years" (1927-1935)

Blue mountain (1936-1940)

Quiz kid (1940-1941)

The art of self-education (1942-1943)

Self-portrait at Deerfield (1943-1945)

"Undergraduate reflections" (1945-1947)

"Some trees" (1947-1949)

"Darkness falls like a wet sponge" (1949-1951)

"Greetings, friends!" (1951-1953)

"What more is there to do, except stay? And that we cannot do" (1954-1955).