Frank Lima

Frank Lima (1939 in Spanish Harlem, New York City, New York, USOctober 21, 2013 in Long Island, New York) was an American poet most closely associated with the New York School. He was born to a Mexican father and Puerto Rican mother. He would reference his pre Columbian ethnicity and the two Latino cultures he came from as large influences on his works but did not want to be called a ‘Latino poet’ because he believed it to be a limiting term that was only needed for introducing people to his work. He also did not want himself or his work to be associated with the New York School Poets, though he appreciated their friendship. even going as far as to say that “Frank, without a doubt, has been the most influential person and poet in my life, other than Kenneth Koch. I am just beginning to realize how important he was in my life.”

Childhood Lima had a very difficult childhood, experiencing physical and sexual abuse from both his parents and a priest.

Career as chef Lima was also a classically trained chef who taught at the New York Restaurant School and was an assistant chef at the White House during the John Fitzgerald Kennedy administration.

Public presence Lima was depicted in Wynn Chamberlain's noted diptych "Poets Dressed and Undressed", which portrays the quartet of Joe Brainard, Frank O'Hara, Joe LeSueur and Lima in successive panels, clothed and then naked.

Posthumous publications

Incidents of Travel in Poetry: New and Selected Poems (City Lights, 2015)