Take a look at the news today: bomb in Omagh; murderous riots in Afghanistan triggered by insane preacher in America; civil war in Libya; in Cote Ivoire; unrest in Yemen; Syria; radiation leaks in Japan, etc - does it not seem particularly dire? Well, yes and no. 1,601 years ago, the sack of Rome was pretty bad. Still - I cannot help feeling things unravelling a bit these days. We must have faith. Steady as she goes. Courage. But human nature is not impressive, altogether. We should be doing more to hold things together, surely? Still, 1.2 billion people in India have common cause to cheer their peaceful victory in the great game of Cricket. So - maybe, in the artifice of play, we can locate a still point of joy after all.
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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Yes, I was delighted to hear that India had won the cricketing world cup only to have that uplifting information immediately followed by news of the brutal murder of a young policeman in Omagh. My delight turned to despair within a matter of seconds. Such, I suppose, is life.
Best wishes from Simon