Summer has arrived with today's solstice! And, oddly, the sun is actually shining, the pale roses are wild and full on the trellis, and Wimbledon is soon to begin. All seems well. There is even a great new summer pop song, from Hot Chip, called 'Motion Sickness', which is a wonderful mix of Motown and OMD. Eyewear wishes you all a great summer.
THAT HANDSOME MAN A PERSONAL BRIEF REVIEW BY TODD SWIFT I could lie and claim Larkin, Yeats , or Dylan Thomas most excited me as a young poet, or even Pound or FT Prince - but the truth be told, it was Thom Gunn I first and most loved when I was young. Precisely, I fell in love with his first two collections, written under a formalist, Elizabethan ( Fulke Greville mainly), Yvor Winters triad of influences - uniquely fused with an interest in homerotica, pop culture ( Brando, Elvis , motorcycles). His best poem 'On The Move' is oddly presented here without the quote that began it usually - Man, you gotta go - which I loved. Gunn was - and remains - so thrilling, to me at least, because so odd. His elegance, poise, and intelligence is all about display, about surface - but the surface of a panther, who ripples with strength beneath the skin. With Gunn, you dressed to have sex. Or so I thought. Because I was queer (I maintain the right to lay claim to that
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I thought that the summer solstice started tomorrow so thanks for giving us the correct date!
Best wishes from Simon