Our Deep Gossip: Conversations with Gay Writers on Poetry and Desire

Title Page, Copyright Page

Our Deep Gossip Publication of this volume has been made possible, in part, through support from the Anonymous Fund of the College of Letters and Science at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Our DeepGossip Conversations with Gay Writers on Poetry and Desire ChristopherHennessy the university of wisconsin press The University of Wisconsin Press 1930 Monroe Street, 3rd Floor Madison, Wisconsin 53711–2059 uwpress.wisc.edu 3 Henrietta Street London WC2E 8LU, England eurospanbookstore.com Copyright © 2013 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any format or by any means, digital, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or conveyed via the Internet or a website without written permission of the University of Wisconsin Press, except in the case of brief quotations embedded in critical articles and reviews. Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Hennessy, Christopher, 1973– author, interviewer. Our deep gossip: conversations with gay writers on poetry and desire / Christopher Hennessy. pp. cm Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-0-299-29564-6 (pbk.: alk. paper) ISBN 978-0-299-29563-9 (e-book) 1. Gay authors—United States—Interviews. 2. Poets, American—21st century—Interviews. 3. Gay men’s writings, American—History and criticism. 4. American poetry—21st century— History and criticism. 5. Field, Edward, 1924– —Interviews. 6. Ashbery, John, 1927– —Interviews. 7. Howard, Richard, 1929– —Interviews. 8. Shurin, Aaron, 1947– —Interviews. 9. Cooper, Dennis, 1953– —Interviews. 10. Cassells, Cyrus— Interviews. 11. Koestenbaum, Wayne—Interviews. 12. Ali, Kazim, 1971– —Interviews. I. Field, Edward, 1924– interviewee. II. Ashbery, John, 1927– interviewee. III. Howard, Richard, 1929– interviewee. IV. Shurin, Aaron, 1947– interviewee. V. Cooper, Dennis, 1953– interviewee. VI. Cassells, Cyrus, interviewee. VII. Koestenbaum, Wayne, interviewee. VIII. Ali, Kazim, 1971– interviewee. IX. Title. PS310.H66H457 2013 811´.6099206642—dc23 2013015069 “Dear Sir or Madam” by John Ashbery is from Wakefulness (New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux), copyright 1998 by John Ashbery. Used with permission of the author. Mr. Ashbery’s interview responses are copyright 2013 by John Ashbery. For An­thony­Greg­ory In memory of Thom Gunn Reginald Shepherd Daryl­Hine Robin Blaser and the othergay and lesbian poetswe’ve lost in recent years It has become, in my opinion, imperative to achieve a shifted attitude . . . towards the thought and fact of sexuality, as an element in character, personality, the emotions, and a theme in literature. I’m not going to argue the question by itself; it does not stand by itself. Walt­Whit­man, “A Backwards Glance o’er Traveled Roads” two men in a tree is clearly the same thing as poetry. Robin Blaser, “Cups” ...