The poet took up the novel's opening sentence ("I was leaning against the bar in a speakeasy on Fifty-second Street") at the start of his own "1 January 1939": "I sit in one of the dives/ On Fifty-second Street…As the clever hopes expire/ Of a low dishonest decade".
ðə pˈoʊɪt tˈʊk ˌʌp ðə nˈɑːvəlz ˈoʊpənɪŋ sˈɛntəns"aɪ wʌz lˈiːnɪŋ ɐɡˈɛnst ðə bˈɑːɹ ɪn ɐ spˈiːkiːzi ˌɔn fˈɪftisˈɛkənd stɹˈiːt"æt ðə stˈɑːɹt ʌv hɪz ˈoʊn "wˈʌn dʒˈænjuːˌɛɹi nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd θˈɜːɾi nˈaɪn": "aɪ sˈɪt ɪn wˈʌn ʌvðə dˈaɪvz slˈæʃ ˌɔn fˈɪftisˈɛkənd stɹˈiːt…æz ðə klˈɛvɚ hˈoʊps ɛkspˈaɪɚ slˈæʃ əvə lˈoʊ dɪsˈɑːnɪst dˈɛkeɪd".