A reminder that Todd Swift is editing an anthology for Cinnamon Press (UK) of the best of the young British poets, those born in or since 1970, all profits for Oxfam, to be sold through its book shops, and launched end of 2011 or early 2012. Deadline for submission of poems is April 8, 2011. Earlier submissions appreciated. Poems may be new or previously published (in magazines, pamphlets or online, preferably not in books); poets should have full copyright for poems. Submit 5-8 poems and 150 word bio note as word document to toddswift at clara dot co dot uk.
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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