Not long ago, Richard Howe conveyed to us some exceedingly sad news: Darragh Park had died. We met Darragh through his connection with James Schuyler's estate. But Darragh was an artist in his own right, and the covers of both of our Schuyler books feature his paintings. A kind and funny man, Darragh was also particular about checking the proofs of his work. But if he hadn't been, we wouldn't have had the pleasure of paying a visit to his Bridgehampton house to show him proofs. Visiting Darragh gave us a glimpse of a vanishing bohemian East End of artists and writers living in genteel disarray. How wonderful to see Darragh's many bandannas and denim jackets draped around the place. No one else could make a motorcycling ensemble look so elegant (Schuyler referred to him as "Mr. Elegance" in an 1985 letter).
David Lehmann at The Best American Poetry blog has been doing an excellent job of cataloging all of Darragh's many covers and offering his thoughts and memories much better than we could.
An obituary
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