 | A WRITER'S WIT |  W. H. Auden |
MY BOOK WORLD
Nott, Michael. Thom Gunn: A Cool Queer Life. New York: Farrar, 2024.
As an American, I had never heard of British-born poet, Thom Gunn, but I was intrigued by the cover (dig those shades reflecting the half-naked photographer) and so bought the book. Almost expecting to lose interest, I, instead, read right to the end (not including Notes, egad) about this transplant to San Francisco. I am now looking forward to locating and reading Gunn’s published works with a certain understanding.
The key to getting at the core of Gunn’s life may be that his mother committed suicide when he was a child, and he never really recovered from it. He continued to ruminate over her death, and the topic dominated, at times, his poetry. But as one comes to understand, writing fine poetry (to him, not necessarily editors) helped him to understand all the important elements of his life, including this loss.
In one sense, Gunn was successful from the start, the Cambridge graduate placing poems in small journals in London as a young man. Though critical success was important to him, he seemed to be one of those rare artists who could analyze his own work and see what was needed—hardly ever following all the invited advice his (critical) readers would bestow upon him. From the beginning there was tension between how much he would reveal about being gay (many times his only subject matter) and being more veiled about it. Until, that is, he moved to the United States. At any rate, Gunn came to define (with the help of W. H. Auden and John Garrett) poetry as “memorable speech” (42). He never lost sight of that goal—leaving and returning to individual poems, sometimes for years, until they seemed memorable.
Gunn lived a lively and unconventional life, even for an out gay man in the 1950s and beyond. He met Mike Kitay when they were both in their early twenties, and they remained together—in one way or another—for the rest of Thom’s life (dying at age 74). Through teaching and lecturing events, as well as grants, Gunn cobbled together a decent living and bought a house in San Francisco. There he and Mike established a commune of sorts, calling the gathered people their family. It was a good and healthful atmosphere, in the main, because none of them had strong relations with or support from their families.
Nott’s book goes into great detail about Gunn’s drug use. For many years Gunn perhaps kept it under control, mixing but also rotating his heavy use of alcohol, speed, and sometimes heroin. And he managed to keep, until the end, his body in good physical shape—trying to maintain his attractive looks for tricks. But as he retired, giving up both writing and teaching (and purpose), his drug use became much heavier, and an overdose ultimately occurred, ending his life in 2004. As literary biography goes (and it can get a bit into the weeds), this one is very fine, I think. Nott fully researches all aspects of Gunn’s life with great detail and understanding, bringing to light the most important elements of a poet’s life. And yet one also understands the poet as a human being, a very generous and kind man at that.
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Benedetto Croce
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Elizabeth George
THURS: A Writer's Wit | John Steinbeck
FRI: My Book World | William S. Burroughs, Queer
As an American, I had never heard of British-born poet, Thom Gunn, but I was intrigued by the cover (dig those shades reflecting the half-naked photographer) and so bought the book. Almost expecting to lose interest, I, instead, read right to the end (not including Notes, egad) about this transplant to San Francisco. I am now looking forward to locating and reading Gunn’s published works with a certain understanding.
The key to getting at the core of Gunn’s life may be that his mother committed suicide when he was a child, and he never really recovered from it. He continued to ruminate over her death, and the topic dominated, at times, his poetry. But as one comes to understand, writing fine poetry (to him, not necessarily editors) helped him to understand all the important elements of his life, including this loss.
In one sense, Gunn was successful from the start, the Cambridge graduate placing poems in small journals in London as a young man. Though critical success was important to him, he seemed to be one of those rare artists who could analyze his own work and see what was needed—hardly ever following all the invited advice his (critical) readers would bestow upon him. From the beginning there was tension between how much he would reveal about being gay (many times his only subject matter) and being more veiled about it. Until, that is, he moved to the United States. At any rate, Gunn came to define (with the help of W. H. Auden and John Garrett) poetry as “memorable speech” (42). He never lost sight of that goal—leaving and returning to individual poems, sometimes for years, until they seemed memorable.
Gunn lived a lively and unconventional life, even for an out gay man in the 1950s and beyond. He met Mike Kitay when they were both in their early twenties, and they remained together—in one way or another—for the rest of Thom’s life (dying at age 74). Through teaching and lecturing events, as well as grants, Gunn cobbled together a decent living and bought a house in San Francisco. There he and Mike established a commune of sorts, calling the gathered people their family. It was a good and healthful atmosphere, in the main, because none of them had strong relations with or support from their families.
Nott’s book goes into great detail about Gunn’s drug use. For many years Gunn perhaps kept it under control, mixing but also rotating his heavy use of alcohol, speed, and sometimes heroin. And he managed to keep, until the end, his body in good physical shape—trying to maintain his attractive looks for tricks. But as he retired, giving up both writing and teaching (and purpose), his drug use became much heavier, and an overdose ultimately occurred, ending his life in 2004. As literary biography goes (and it can get a bit into the weeds), this one is very fine, I think. Nott fully researches all aspects of Gunn’s life with great detail and understanding, bringing to light the most important elements of a poet’s life. And yet one also understands the poet as a human being, a very generous and kind man at that.
Up Next:
TUES: A Writer's Wit | Benedetto Croce
WEDS: A Writer's Wit | Elizabeth George
THURS: A Writer's Wit | John Steinbeck
FRI: My Book World | William S. Burroughs, Queer
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