Gunn, Thom

Gunn, Thom

▪ British poet
original name  Thomson William Gunn  
born August 29, 1929, Gravesend, Kent, England
died April 25, 2004, San Francisco, California, U.S.

      English poet whose verse is notable for its adroit, terse language and counterculture themes.

      The son of a successful London journalist, Gunn attended University College School in London and Trinity College in Cambridge, where he received a B.A. (1953) and M.A. (1958). In 1954 he moved to San Francisco, California, to study at Stanford University. He later taught at the University of California at Berkeley.

      Gunn's first volume of verse was Fighting Terms (1954; rev. ed. 1962). The Sense of Movement (1957) won a Somerset Maugham Award, which he used for travel in Italy. “On the Move,” a celebration of black-jacketed motorcyclists from that volume, is one of his best-known poems. In the late 1950s Gunn's poetry became more experimental. He published My Sad Captains in 1961, and Selected Poems, which also contains the work of his Cambridge contemporary Ted Hughes (Hughes, Ted), appeared in 1962. Positives (1966) is a group of poems about Londoners, with photographs by the poet's brother Ander Gunn. In the 1970s Gunn began to explore themes of homosexuality and drugs, and notable collections came to include Moly (1971), Jack Straw's Castle (1976), and The Man with Night Sweats (1992), which focuses on the AIDS epidemic. Among his other works are Selected Poems 1950–1975 (1979), The Passages of Joy (1982), and Boss Cupid (2000). The Occasion of Poetry (1982) and Shelf Life (1993) are collections of autobiographical and critical essays. Gunn received numerous awards, including a Guggenheim (1971) and MacArthur (1993) fellowship.

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  • Gunn, Thom — (1929 2004)    Born in Gravesend, Kent, the son of a journalist and newspaper editor, his mother seems to have inspired his future career. After National Service he graduated from Trinity College, Cambridge, in 1953, then moved to America with… …   British and Irish poets

  • Gunn, Thom William — ▪ 2005       British born American poet and critic (b. Aug. 29, 1929, Gravesend, Kent, Eng. d. April 25, 2004, San Francisco, Calif.), presented a singular voice in a writing career that stretched from the undergraduate work Fighting Terms (1954) …   Universalium

  • Gunn, Thom(son William) — born Aug. 29, 1929, Gravesend, Kent, Eng. died April 25, 2004, San Francisco, Calif., U.S. British U.S. poet. Educated at Cambridge and Stanford universities, he lived in San Francisco from the 1950s and taught for many years at the University of …   Universalium

  • Gunn, Thom(son William) — (29 ago. 1929, Gravesend, Kent, Inglaterra–25 abr. 2004, San Francisco, Cal., EE.UU.). Poeta británicoestadounidense. Educado en las universidades de Cambridge y Stanford, vivió en San Francisco desde la década de 1950 y enseñó por muchos años en …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Thom Gunn — (29 August 1929 25 April 2004) was an Anglo American poet. He was born Thomson William Gunn in Gravesend, Kent. In his youth, he attended University College School in Hampstead, London. Later, he studied English literature at Trinity College,… …   Wikipedia

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  • Gunn — may mean: In general : * Gunn High School, high school in Palo Alto, California * Gunnr, one of the valkyries in Norse mythology * Gunn diode, diode used in high frequency electronics * Clan Gunn, Highland Scots clan of Norse origin * Floyd M.… …   Wikipedia

  • Gunn — ist der Familienname folgender Personen: Adam Gunn (1872–1934), US amerikanischer Leichtathlet Anna Gunn (* 1968), US amerikanische Schauspielerin David Gunn (Komponist), US amerikanischer Komponist David Gunn (Schauspieler) (* 1972), US… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thom Gunn — Thomson („Thom“) William Gunn (* 29. August 1929 in Gravesend, Kent, Großbritannien; † 25. April 2004 in San Francisco, USA) war ein britischer Dichter und Universitätslehrer. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Leben 2 Werk und literarische Bedeutung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Liste der Biografien/Gu — Biografien: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q …   Deutsch Wikipedia

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