Thom Gunn is a very diverse and interesting poet. “The Man With Night Sweats” collection is a depressing and sad chronicling of the place Gunn was in his life during that time period. “A Blank” is a very interesting footnote to end on. Reading it while keeping the context of the collection in mind, it feels very deliberately placed as the ender. The poem definitely stands on it’s own (as poems should), but adding that context gives it more depth. There’s somberness to it but Gunn is ending the collection with a glimpse of hope, after some very dark materiel precedes. The poem opens with “the year of griefs being through”, an acknowledgement of the dark times Gunn had experiences and written about in the other parts of the collection. It definitely can be related to how it relates and contrasts to the others from “The man with Night Sweats”, but also do some of Gunn’s prior work. In “On the Move” the bikers are seeking something but lack purpose, in “From the Wave” the surfers have a settled purpose and are ingrained to it cyclically. In “Lament” the subject is a man seemingly being stripped of his purpose in physically painful ways. “A Blank” seems to give hope of a new purpose, or regaining of purpose. It seems its not entirely an expected purpose or hope, but one that Gunn’s speaker is intrigued and delighted by.I think Gunn wanted to display that there is a light at the end of the tunnel so to speak. I think he wanted some beat of hope to end on. He ended the collection very intentionally with this, but it’s not just a whim it feels as though he really did see some joy and hope despite what him and his friends had experienced personally. Continue reading “Thom Gunn”
Month: February 2018
Reading Blog #1: Flannery O’Connor
I agree with the thoughts of Andre Bleikastan regarding O’Connor’s work. I think multiple interpretations of a lot of works can be very valid. But a reader does himself, the work, and the author a disservice if they do not consider the intentions of the author. You should to factor the authors point of view and what they are trying to accomplish. At the same time an author’s work should be able to stand on its own without completely knowing their intents. Their intention should come across on the page. Continue reading “Reading Blog #1: Flannery O’Connor”