Very glad to be at the Kenneth Koch celebration last night at the New School, seeing friends & listening to reminiscences. Highlights were Ron Padgett's "Traveling with Kenneth"; a succinct & evocative account of finding the art (in the widest sense) scene in the 1950s by a former Paris Review editor, Maxine Groffsky; Charles North reading 2 uncollected poems; & a sweet short video from Alex Katz, frail but full of fire. His former students revered him & still do. Because the evening was homage, there was no acknowledgement that of the 13 participants, only one was a woman & one was non-white (who had never met Koch & didn't make clear why he'd been asked). An old friend I hadn't seen in ages said he was a great teacher but unsupportive, even nasty, to the women students. He was Of His Times, to be sure.
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