At the Barriers : On the Poetry of Thom Gunn

Maverick gay poetic icon Thom Gunn (1929–2004) and his body of work have long dared the British and American poetry establishments either to claim or disavow him. To critics in the UK and US alike, Gunn demonstrated that formal poetry could successfully include new speech rhythms and open forms and that experimental styles could still maintain technical and intellectual rigor. Along the way, Gunn’s verse captured the social upheavals of the 1960s, the existential possibilities of the late twentieth century, and the tumult of post-Stonewall gay culture. The first book-length study of this major poet, At the Barriers surveys Gunn’s career from his youth in 1930s Britain to his final years in California, from his earliest publications to his later unpublished notebooks, bringing together some of the most important poet-critics from both sides of the Atlantic to assess his oeuvre. This landmark volume traces how Gunn, in both his life and his writings, pushed at boundaries of different kinds, be they geographic, sexual, or poetic. At the Barriers will solidify Gunn’s rightful place in the pantheon of Anglo-American letters. CONTENTS......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 12 List of Abbreviations......Page 14 JOSHUA WEINER - Introduction ......Page 16 PART I: IN ENGLAND......Page 24 EAVAN BOLAND - All That You Praise I Take: A Glimpse of the Young Thom Gunn......Page 26 NEIL POWELL - Young Gunn: Coming Out Fighting......Page 34 ALFRED CORN - Existentialism and Homosexuality in Gunn’s Early Poetry......Page 50 CLIVE WILMER - Gunn, Shakespeare, and the Elizabethans......Page 60 PART II: ACROSS THE WATER......Page 84 AUGUST KLEINZAHLER - Thom Gunn: The Plain Style and the City......Page 86 KEITH TUMA - Thom Gunn and Anglo-American Modernism......Page 100 JOSHUA WEINER - From Ladd’s Hill to Land’s End (and Back Again): Narrative, Rhythm,and the Transatlantic Occasions of “Misanthropos”......Page 120 THOM GUNN - Two Versions of “Meat”......Page 142 JOSHUA WEINER - Gunn’s “Meat”: Notations on Craft......Page 144 PART III: IN AMERICA......Page 148 JOHN PECK - Summation and Chthonic Power......Page 150 BRIAN TEARE - Our Dionysian Experiment: Three Theses on the Poetry of Thom Gunn......Page 196 PART IV: OF THE WORLD......Page 254 TOM SLEIGH - Thom Gunn’s New Jerusalem......Page 256 DAVID GEWANTER - Domains of Ecstasy......Page 272 PAUL MULDOON - Considering “Considering the Snail”......Page 284 WENDY LESSER - Thom Gunn’s “Duncan”......Page 292 ROBERT PINSKY - Coda: Thom Gunn, Inside and Outside......Page 302 Notes......Page 308 List of Contributors......Page 334 Index of Names......Page 338 This Landmark Volume Traces How Gunn, In Both His Life And His Writings, Pushed At Boundaries, Be They Geographic, Sexual, Or Poetic. In England. All That You Praise I Take : A Glimpse Of The Young Thom Gunn / Eavan Boland ; Young Gunn : Coming Out Fighting / Neil Powell ; Existentialism And Homosexuality In Gunn's Early Poetry / Alfred Corn ; Gunn, Shakespeare, And The Elizabethans / Clive Wilmer -- Across The Water. Thom Gunn : The Plain Style And The City / August Kleinzahler ; Thom Gunn And Anglo-american Modernism / Keith Tuma ; From Ladd's Hill To Land's End (and Back Again) : Narrative, Rhythm, And The Transatlantic Occasions Of Misanthropos / Joshua Weiner ; Two Versions Of Meat / Thom Gunn ; Gunn's Meat : Notations On Craft / Joshua Weiner -- In America. Summation And Chthonic Power / John Peck ; Our Dionysian Experiment : Three Theses On The Poetry Of Thom Gunn / Brian Teare -- Of The World. Thom Gunn's New Jerusalem / Tom Sleigh ; Domains Of Ecstasy / David Gewanter -- Considering Considering The Snail / Paul Muldoon ; Thom Gunn's Duncan / Wendy Lesser ; Coda : Thom Gunn, Inside And Outside / Robert Pinksy. Edited By Joshua Weiner. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Introduction In England / Eavan Boland All that you praise I take: a glimpse of the young Thom Gunn / Neil Powell Young Gunn: coming out fighting / Alfred Corn Existentialism and homosexuality in Gunn's early poetry / Clive Wilmer Gunn, Shakespeare, and the Elizabethans across the water / August Kleinzahler Thom Gunn: the plain style and the city / Keith Tuma Thom Gunn and Anglo-American modernism / Joshua Weiner From Ladd's Hill to Land's End (and back again): narrative, rhythm, and the transatlantic occasions of "Misanthropos" / Thom Gunn Versions of "Meat" / Joshua Weiner Gunn's "Meat": notations on craft in America / John Peck Summation and chthonic power / Brian Teare Our dionysian experiment: three theses on the poetry of Thom Gunn Of the world / Tom Sleigh Thom Gunn's new Jerusalem / David Gewanter Domains of ecstasy / Paul Muldoon Considering "Considering the snail" / Wendy Lesser Thom Gunn's "Duncan" / Robert Pinsky Coda: Thom Gunn, inside and outside. Maverick gay poetic icon Thom Gunn (1929-2004) and his body of work have long dared the British and American poetry establishments either to claim or disavow him. To critics in the UK and US alike, he demonstrated that formal poetry could successfully include new speech rhythms and open forms, and that experimental styles could still maintain technical and intellectual rigor. Along the way, Gunn's verse captured the social upheavals of the 1960s, the existential possibilities of the late twentieth century, and the tumult of post-Stonewall gay culture. This book surveys Gunn's career from his youth in 1930s Britain to his final years in California, from his earliest publications to his later unpublished notebooks, bringing together some of the most important poet-critics from both sides of the Atlantic to assess his oeuvre. It traces how Gunn, in both his life and his writings, pushed at boundaries of different kinds, be they geographic, sexual, or poetic