Schuyler, James (Marcus) - Introduction

James (Marcus) Schuyler 1923–

American poet, novelist, and playwright.

Schuyler is a poet of the New York School along with Frank O'Hara, John Ashbery, and Kenneth Koch. A former art critic, he claims that "much of poetry is as concerned with looking at things and trying to transcribe them as painting is." His The Morning of the Poem, which won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize in poetry, is outstanding for its open and personal projection of a poet interacting with the world.

Schuyler's novels, particularly What's for Dinner? and Nest of Ninnies, which he wrote with Ashbery, disclose the hypocrisy in suburban life. Schuyler's harshest critics argue that his prose is typical "ridicule the establishment" fiction. Schuyler's defenders say that his dialogue is so accurate and masterful that ridicule, if it exists, comes from the mouths of his vivid characters.

(See also CLC, Vol. 5; Contemporary Authors, Vol. 101; and Dictionary of Literary Biography, Vol. 5.)