Culturally clueless

The first poem in "Seriously Funny" is by Frank O'Hara, and it contains an allusion that was new to me when I first read it earlier this week.

Now here is what happens every time I run into stuff that's new to me:  I make a mental note to myself that I must look it up, which of course I never can do right away, because I must leave for class or something---I am on my way to somewhere almost all of the time, that is just how my life is---and then I forget all about the mental note before actually getting to it.

And here's the second half of the story---and this also happens to me amazingly often---this morning I came across the exact same allusion (in this case, a name) in a completely unrelated context (in this case, in this article on Poetry News), upon which I finally looked it up.

That's why I spent some time this afternoon researching Lana Turner on the internet.

Here's the poem in question:
_______________

Poem

By Frank O'Hara

Lana Turner has collapsed!
I was trotting along and suddenly
it started raining and snowing
and you said it was hailing
but hailing hits you on the head
hard so it was really snowing and
raining and I was in such a hurry
to meet you but the traffic
was acting exactly like the sky
and suddenly I see a headline
LANA TURNER HAS COLLAPSED!
there is no snow in Hollywood
there is no rain in California
I have been to a lot of parties
and acted perfectly disgraceful
but I never actually collapsed
oh Lana Turner we love you get up