弗兰克·奥哈拉(Frank O’Hara,1926-1966)是美国当代最著名、最有影响的纽约派诗人之一。奥哈拉的诗《我为啥不是画家》发表于1957年,当时美国诗坛盛行的是建立在T.S.艾略特诗歌传统基础之上的“新象征主义”诗歌,其特征是文雅、语言优美、喜欢使用反讽、不触动理智誓不罢休等。奥哈拉的诗与此则相反,通常采用口语和对话形式,在语气语调上比较随意自由。他的《我为啥不是画家》与他的其他许多诗作一样读起来就好像是奥哈拉刚刚即席而作, Frank O’Hara (1926-1966) is one of the most famous and influential New York school poets in the United States. O’Hara’s poem “Why am I not a painter?” Was published in 1957, when the American poetry was prevalent at the “Neo-Symbolism” poetry, based on the tradition of TS Eliot’s poetry, characterized by elegance, language Beautiful, like to use irony, do not touch the rational oath and so on. O’Hara’s poem, on the contrary to this, usually adopts the form of colloquialism and dialogues, and is more free and comfortable in tone. His “Why I’m Not a Painter,” like many of his other poems, reads as if O’Hara had just made an impromptu attempt,