Klawitter G
English Department, St. Edward's University, Austin, TX 78704, USA.
J Homosex. 1997;33(3-4):207-32. doi: 10.1300/J082v33n03_10.
Thom Gunn has relied on biblical stories throughout his writing career to carry gay-themed poems. Although he characterizes himself agnostic, it is difficult to reconcile this self-definition with the tenderness evident in his biblical poems, a tenderness that many would identify with a kind of piety. Two of these poems reflect Gunn's reaction to paintings by Caravaggio, "The Sacrifice of Isaac" and "The Conversion of St. Paul." For the former, Gunn seems to have intuited Caravaggio's fascination with the naked figure of Isaac who appears about to be sodomized by Abraham. For the Paul poem, Gunn chooses one of two Caravaggio paintings on the subject, the one which emphasizes Paul in a recumbent and vulnerable sexual position. Gunn has also written tenderly of the Virgin Mary and Christ. His poem "Lazarus Not Raised" is an unusual look at the New Testament Lazarus story from Lazarus's point of view as a dead man who is not particularly interested in coming back to life even though he is encouraged to do so by a bevy of male friends. In recent years Gunn has continued to use biblical flavors in his verse, maintaining all the time his agnosticism.
汤姆·冈恩在其整个写作生涯中都借助圣经故事来创作以同性恋为主题的诗歌。尽管他将自己描述为不可知论者，但很难将这种自我定义与他圣经题材诗歌中明显的柔情相协调，这种柔情许多人会将其与一种虔诚联系起来。其中两首诗反映了冈恩对卡拉瓦乔画作《以撒献祭》和《圣保罗的皈依》的反应。对于前者，冈恩似乎凭直觉感受到了卡拉瓦乔对以撒裸体形象的着迷，以撒看起来即将被亚伯拉罕鸡奸。对于关于圣保罗的那首诗，冈恩从关于这个主题的两幅卡拉瓦乔画作中选择了一幅，即强调圣保罗处于仰卧且易受伤害的性姿势的那幅。冈恩也温情地描写了圣母玛利亚和基督。他的诗《拉撒路未被复活》从拉撒路作为一个死人的视角对新约中拉撒路的故事进行了不同寻常的审视，拉撒路即使被一群男性朋友鼓励，也对复活并不特别感兴趣。近年来，冈恩在他的诗歌中继续运用圣经元素，同时始终保持着他的不可知论。
