★ 2022-02-25
Letters reveal a poet’s depths.
Meticulously edited, introduced, and annotated by literary scholar Nott and poets Kleinzahler and Wilmer, this commodious selection vibrantly portrays the acclaimed British poet Gunn (1929-2004). In a comprehensive biographical overview, Nott observes that Gunn “was not just the leather-jacket-wearing, motorbike-riding tough that he is sometimes made out to be; nor the rambunctiously laughing, happy-go-lucky bon vivant that he often showed to the world,” but a tender friend and an artist of “literary and humane intelligence.” In letters to fellow poets, Gunn reflects on his writing process, the publication and reception of his work, his assessments of other poets, and, not least, his enthusiastic identity as a gay man, which he needed to conceal in his early poems. Although he once toyed with having heterosexual sex to satisfy his curiosity, he decided “that one must not enter on such things if one cannot be happy in them and make the girl happy. It is a pity,” he added wryly, “to be perverted.” He gushes about his love for Mike Kitay, whom he met at Cambridge in 1952, and raunchily extols sex. In 1954, at Stanford as a creative writing fellow, he was quickly enamored of California, where he settled. In the 1970s, LSD, cocaine, and speed became habitual, supplemented by alcohol, and AIDS made the 1980s a grievous decade of loss. In a letter to his lifelong friend neurologist Oliver Sacks, Gunn reveals the values he most cherished: “I found you so talented,” Gunn wrote of his early impression, “but so deficient in one quality—just the most important—call it humanity, or sympathy, or something like that. And, frankly, I despaired of your ever becoming a good writer, because I didn’t see how one could be taught such a quality.” A detailed chronology, glossary of names, and photographs round out the volume, which is sure to please any fan of literary biography.
A work of impressive scholarship.
Rowdy, funny, filthy, intensely literate letters . . . These letters have been anticipated, by many, because [Gunn] rarely spilled his guts on the page. There’s been no biography. These letters are what we have, and they don’t disappoint . . . This book, like Gunn’s life, puts an unusual mix of pleasures on display.” —Dwight Garner, The New York Times Book Review
"One’s experience of Gunn’s poetry—which is, by turns, conversational, formal, and metaphysical, and often all three at once—is deeply enhanced by the life one discovers in The Letters of Thom Gunn (expertly co-edited by Michael Nott—who provides a heartfelt and knowledgeable introduction—and Gunn’s close friends the poets August Kleinzahler and Clive Wilmer) . . . In the letters, I have discovered the person Gunn left out of the poems." —Hilton Als, The New Yorker
"Absorbing reading . . . we have Gunn's thoughts on everything from pornography to poststructuralism, and his delight at being the soul of indiscretion . . . Reading what Gunn didn’t choose to show to the public, and knowing what he did, it becomes clear how personal a writer he is... The correspondence throws new light on his work by allowing us to see things other than his notorious coolness." —Matthew Bevis, Harper's
“A poet of great wit and style, Thom Gunn was also a lyrical portraitist, which is especially evident in his recently collected letters . . . These letters vastly increase our understanding of his painstaking compositional processes . . . One is struck by his startling lack of hubris or defensiveness—his openness, even late in his career, to advice and criticism.” —Mark Ford, The New York Review of Books
"A mineshaft into the multilayered life of one of the great English poets of the second half of the 20th century . . . The perfect combination of leather and literature." —Paul Muldoon, The Independent
"The letters draw out the contradictions that made Gunn something of an anomaly: an agile poet who renovated tradition to accommodate the rude litter of modernity.” —Jeremy Lybarger, The New Republic
"Fascinating glimpses into the way a first-rate poet managed to keep a precarious gift at the center of his life, while also fully living that life." —Nate Klug, The Threepenny Review
"Filled with powerful takes on [Gunn's] creative process, interpersonal relationships, and day-to-day life . . . The editors’ footnotes are illustrative rather than intrusive, and the robust collection is packed with life and vigor. This should help bring Gunn and his work to a new generation of readers." —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
"Meticulously edited, introduced, and annotated by literary scholar Nott and poets Kleinzahler and Wilmer, this commodious selection vibrantly portrays the acclaimed British poet Gunn . . . sure to please any fan of literary biography." —Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
"Gunn's letters are a testament to his vitality and enthusiasm for a cornucopia of experiences embraced with gusto and eloquently shared." —Booklist (Starred Review)
"Impeccably curated and crafted by a distinguished trio of fellow poets and scholars, this selection of missives by poet Thom Gunn establishes the literary artist as an enormously talented and creative powerhouse. Through his letters, readers will garner a new appreciation for Gunn through his craft and work with other poets, his personal interactions, his sexuality as a gay man in the era of AIDS, and his overall life." —Jim Piechota, The Bay Area Reporter
