"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''ss 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''seremy 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''ss 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''ss 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''seremy 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''seremy 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''ss 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''seremy 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 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''seremy 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 Kl.