Class Description
Between the arrival of Frank O’Hara’s Lunch Poems in 1964 and Thom Gunn’s death forty years later, the closet pretty completely disintegrated for gay writers and poets in the US. Where once writers self-censored and made only oblique allusions to their sexuality and difference as gay men, over the decades a loose, frank candor prevailed, enabled by the liberation years of the 1970s and the elegiac years of loss and defiance in the 1980s and 90s.
In this class, we’ll read a wide selection of work by James Merrill, Tim Dlugos, James Schuyler, and O’Hara and Gunn—not just poems from throughout their careers, but also selections from their posthumously published letters and diaries. We’ll focus especially on their use of gossip and dailiness as a means of making personal matters historical and permanent, and trace their gradual “coming out” as proudly queer poets.
Rob Onorato is an independent researcher and writer, with special interests ranging from queer writers through the ages to neurodivergent techniques in popular music to botany and horticulture. He has lectured and presented at Rock Valley College, North Central College, and Emerson College, and works as the Newberry’s Director of Individual Giving.
Materials List
Required
- Instructor-Distributed Materials
- Digital Course Packet for first reading only
First Reading
- Please read the first grouped selection of poems by Merrill, Gunn, O'Hara, and Schuyler from the Digital Course Packet
A Brief Syllabus
- Overview of the lives and careers of the four older poets (O’Hara, Merrill, Gunn, and Schuyler); a timeline of major events in gay America from the late 50s to the late 90s; “how” to read a poem.
- Spotlight on James Merrill and Thom Gunn; their lives, careers, and poetry both before and after coming out; also, letters and diaries: their process of posthumous collection, archiving, and publication.
- Introduction to and overview of Tim Dlugos, as compared to his most direct ancestor, Frank O'Hara; notes on gay New York in the 50s/60s vs 70s/80s; a pocket guide to gay cultural references in poetry and how to spot them.
- A refresher on Schuyler, paying particular attention to the fluidity between diary and letter and much of Schuyler’s published poetry.
Cost and Registration
4 sessions, $200 ($180 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($200), Community Supported ($190), and Sponsor ($210). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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