Born to a Jewish family in Natick, Massachusetts, Richman began playing music and writing his own songs in the mid-1960s. Richman became infatuated with the Velvet Underground, and in 1969 he moved to New York City, living on the couch of their manager, Steve Sesnick, while working odd jobs and try

Charming, Clever, Fleeting, Joyful, Playful, Pop, Post-punk, Primal, Quirky, Self-reflection, Sincere, Singer/songwriter, Whimsical

80s synthpop, Domestic, Feminine, Fleeting, Glamour, Grand, Gritty, Intense, Intimate, Melancholy, Pop, Queer, Rhythmic, Sensual, Serene, Sexy, Smart, Sophisticated

John Ashbery has influenced more poets than almost any other author since 1950. Dean Young, Jane Miller, David Shapiro, and many younger poets take up the pen from within his tradition of shifting tone, quirky imagery, and timeless narratives. His innovations seem to have arrived simultaneously with

Absurd, Fleeting, Improvised, Loose, New york school poetry, Overflowing, Sprawling

Ebullient, Fleeting, Modernist literature, Quirky, Smart, The lost generation, Witty, Women's literature