7 Quotes & Sayings By Thom Gunn

Thom Gunn (1930–2001) was an American poet, critic, and professor of English at the University of California, Berkeley. He was born in New York City on July 30th 1930, attended Columbia University (B.A. in English), and then studied for a doctorate in English at the University of Cambridge (M.A. in English) Read more

In 1960 he joined the English faculty at UC Berkeley, where he remained until his death ten years later from cancer on October 2nd 2001.

Deep feeling doesn't make for good poetry. A way with...
1
Deep feeling doesn't make for good poetry. A way with language would be a bit of help. Thom Gunn
2
There have been two popular subjects for poetry in the last few decades: the Vietnam War and AIDS, about both of which almost all of us have felt deeply. Thom Gunn
3
It was difficult being a teacher and out of the closet in the '50s. By the time I retired, the English department was proud of having a gay poet of a certain minor fame. It was a very satisfactory change! Thom Gunn
4
My old teacher's definition of poetry is an attempt to understand. Thom Gunn
5
I had assumed that I would age with all my friends growing old around me, dying off very gradually one by one. And here was a plague that cut them off so early. Thom Gunn
6
As humans we look at things and think about what we've looked at. We treasure it in a kind of private art gallery. Thom Gunn