Thom Gunn

"We control the content of our dreams."

"Deep feeling doesn't make for good poetry. A way with language would be a bit of help."

"My old teacher's definition of poetry is an attempt to understand."

"There have been two popular subjects for poetry in the last few decades: the Vietnam War and AIDS, about both of which almost all of us have felt deeply."

"It was difficult being a teacher and out of the closet in the '50s. By the time I retired, the English department was proud of having a gay poet of a certain minor fame. It was a very satisfactory change!"

"My old teacher's definition of poetry is an attempt to understand."