Teach This Poem: “Poem [Lana Turner has collapsed!]” by Frank O’Hara

Closely look at the headline and article, “Lana Faints; in Hospital,” New York Post, February 9, 1962.

The following activities and questions are designed to help your students use their noticing skills to move through the poem and develop their thinking skills so they understand its meaning with confidence, using what they’ve noticed as evidence for their interpretations. Read more about the framework upon which these activities are based.

1. Warm-up: Closely read the headline and article, “Lana Faints; in Hospital.” What stands out most to you? Why? What does this make you think about? How might this be different if it were written about a celebrity or renowned person today? Why? 

2. Before Reading the Poem: (Teachers before class, gather several newspaper headlines with enough copies for all of your students. Or, you might choose to ask students to share with you headlines before class.) Join with a partner and together, choose a headline. Read the headline and discuss it together. What do you notice? What does it make you think about? Why? Share with your classmates. What patterns, if any, did you notice in the headlines and what people shared? What connections might you make to the Lana Turner headline? 

3. Reading the Poem: Silently read “Poem [Lana Turner has collapsed!]” by Frank O’Hara. What do you notice about the poem? Note any words or phrases that stand out to you or any questions you might have.

4. Listening to the Poem: Enlist two volunteers and listen as the poem is read aloud twice. Write down any additional words and phrases that stand out to you. You might enjoy this audio of the poet reading the poem. 

5. Small Group Discussion: Share what you noticed about the poem with a small group of students. Based on the details you just shared with your small group and the headlines from the beginning of class, what did you think of the poem? What words, phrases, or punctuation stood out to you? Why? What connections can you make between the headlines you read and the Lana Turner headline? 

6. Whole Class Discussion: What is the tone of this poem? Why? What do you notice about the punctuation and capitalization in the poem? What connections can you make between the speaker of the poem and the subject of the poem, Lana Turner? What might this say about popular culture and/or literature? 

7. Extension for Grades 7-8: Think back to one of the headlines that you read at the beginning of class or choose a new one. Write a poem inspired by the headline and try to incorporate details from your own life. Bring in your poem and, if possible, create a virtual or in-person gallery walk of your headline poems. 

8. Extension for Grades 9-12: Poets write about everything, even popular culture. Join with a partner or small group and choose a poem that explores pop culture. Prepare a mini-discussion in which you lead your class in a reading of your chosen poem and its “pop culture” element. What can poets teach us about the world around us? 

“Whenever I return to this beloved poem, as I have frequently during these fevered days, or teach it to medical students, I’m always struck by its immediacy, how insistently it locates us in the troubled physical body.” Read Rafael Campo’s reflection on “Poem [Lana Turner has collapsed!]” from the Poetry Society of America.

Tone: a literary device that conveys the author’s attitude toward the subject, speaker, or audience of a poem.