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Poems by Thom Gunn

 Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0012/MS Add.10105

Scope and Contents

Manuscript and typescript poems by Gunn, some bearing corrections, annotations or notes, and some with notes on adhesive slips. They are mostly undated. The poems are:

“My darling, you are twenty two …” (MS, 1 folio, bearing a marginal query)

‘Tamer and Hawk’ (MS, 1 folio)

‘Captain in Time of Peace’ (MS, 1 folio)

‘Captain in Time of Peace’, another version (MS, 1 folio)

‘Without a Counterpart’ (MS, 1 folio)

‘Contemplative and Active’ (TS carbon copy, 1 folio)

‘My Sad Captains’ (photocopy or print-out of scans of MS and TS, various drafts on 1 folio)

‘The Distortions’ (MS, 1 folio)

‘I sleep lightly’ (MS, 1 folio, bearing a note by Gunn)

‘The Suicide Pact’ (MS, 1 folio, torn with loss of text not affecting the poem)

“Moving about the room at night, I tie …” (MS, 1 folio)

‘The Moon’s Dark’ (MS, 1 folio, bearing a note by Gunn on the reverse)

‘Legal Reform’ (MS, 1 folio)

‘Legal Reform’, another version (MS, 1 folio)

‘During an Absence’ (TS, 1 folio, bearing a note by Gunn)

‘The Inherited Estate’ (TS, 2 folios, dated ‘21 May 54’, bearing a TS dedication)

‘The Goddess’ and ‘Out of Breath’ (TS on 1 folio)

‘From the Wave’ (MS, 1 folio, bearing notes by Gunn)

‘The Rooftop’ (photocopied MS, 2 folios, bearing notes by Gunn in photocopy)

‘To Natty Bummpo’ (photocopied MS, 1 folio, bearing notes by Gunn in photocopy)

‘Three’ (photocopied TS, 1 folio, bearing notes by Gunn in photocopy)

‘Metal Landscapes’ (TS carbon copy, 1 folio, bearing MS notes by Gunn)

‘Transients and Residents’ (‘Delayed Preface’ and ‘100% DWV Copper & Brass’, photocopied TS, 2 folios, with a cover sheet, TS, 1 folio)

‘At the Barriers’, photocopied TS, 5 folios, bearing notes by Gunn)

‘Her Pet’, photocopied TS, 1 folio, bearing a note by Gunn)

‘Still Life’ and ‘Terminal’ (photocopied TS, dated ‘Dec 5, 86’ and ‘August 86’ respectively, on 1 folio)

‘The Reassurance’ (photocopied TS, dated ‘June,1987’, 1 folio, bearing a letter from ‘Ed-Jason’ to ‘Mel’ in photocopy below the poem, and also bearing notes by Gunn and in another hand (Kitay’s?) in pencil)

‘Famous Friends’ (photocopied TS, 1 folio, bearing notes by Gunn in photocopy)

‘A Wood near Athens’ (photocopied TS, 2 folios, bearing notes by Gunn)

‘In Trust’ (photocopied TS, 1 folio, with TS amendments pasted over some lines, and with an adhesive slip bearing an MS note by Gunn)

‘Troubadour’ (‘songs for Jeffrey Dahmer’, consisting of ‘Hitchhiker’, ‘Iron Man’, ’The Visible Man’ and ‘A Borrowed Man’, photocopied TS, 3 folios, with an adhesive slip bearing an MS note by Gunn)

’Love and Friendship’ (photocopied TS, 1 folio, with photocopies of photographs, 2 folios, one bearing a note by Gunn);‘The Honesty’ (photocopied TS, 1 folio, with a letter from Gunn to ‘Dear Artisans’, dated ‘Aug 15’, TS, 1 folio)

‘Enough’ (photocopied TS, 1 folio, bearing notes by Gunn in photocopy and pencil)

‘Apartment Cats’ (photocopied TS, 1 folio, bearing notes by Gunn in photocopy).

Dates

  • Creation: 1954-1988 and undated (1950s-1990s?)

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

Extent

0.003 cubic metre(s) (1 folder) : Paper

Language of Materials

English

Custodial History

Formerly in the possession of Michael Kitay.

Existence and Location of Originals

The originals of the documents of which 'The Rooftop', 'To Natty Bummpo', 'Three' and 'Apartment Cats' in MS Add.10105 are copies are in MS Add.9841.

Related Materials

A collection of correspondence, poems and notes of Thom Gunn, c. 1960s-1970s, is at MS Add.9841.

Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
West Road
Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom