The Letters of Thom Gunn
ISBN10: 0374605696
ISBN13: 9780374605698
Hardcover
800 Pages
$45.00
CA$60.00
"I write about love, I write about friendship," remarked Thom Gunn: "I find that they are absolutely intertwined." These core values permeate his correspondence with friends, family, lovers, and fellow poets, and shed new light on "one of the most singular and compelling poets in English during the past half-century" (Hugh Haughton, The Times Literary Supplement).
The Letters of Thom Gunn, edited by August Kleinzahler, Michael Nott, and Clive Wilmer, reveals the evolution of Gunn's work and illuminates the fascinating life that informed his poems: his struggle to come to terms with his mother’s suicide; his changing relationship with his life partner, Mike Kitay; the LSD trips that led to his celebrated collection Moly (1971); and the deaths of friends from AIDS that inspired the powerful, unsparing elegies of The Man with Night Sweats (1992).
Reviews
Praise for The Letters of Thom Gunn
“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
“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
"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
"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 Magazine
"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
"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)
"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)
Reviews from Goodreads
BOOK EXCERPTS
Read an Excerpt
1939
Early 19392
[110 Frognal,
Hampstead,
London NW3]3
Thursday
Dear Father,
Thank-you for the lovely toy theatre, we have played with it from early morn till sunset.
[…]
Miss...