John Thompson
John Thompson - photo Public Domain
John Thompson was born in 1938, a few kilometres from Manchester, England. He graduated from boarding school in 1955, obtaining university entrance qualifications in English, French, and History. He graduated with first class Honours in Psychology at the University of Sheffield in June 1958, after which he served with the British Army Intelligence Corps in Germany for two years.
Thompson entered a Master’s program in Psychology at Michigan State University in 1960, but in 1961 switched to a Master’s program in Comparative Literature, in which he received a PhD in 1966, and moved his family immediately to Sackville, New Brunswick, where he had accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at Mount Allison University.
In 1973 Thompson published his first book of poetry, At the Edge of the Chopping There Are No Secrets, and wrote nearly a third of his second, Stilt Jack, a book of 38 ghazals, published posthumously in 1978.
Thompson fell in love with the managing editor of his publisher, Shirley Gibson, in 1975, and his wife and daughter left him. He took a sabbatical from Mount Allison for research purposes, living with Gibson and her two sons. However, Thompson suffered greatly from alcoholism and mental illness, and after having a breakdown, returned to Sackville and resumed his teaching position. Gibson continually told him that she refused to live with him again until he stopped drinking, but he would not comply. Thompson died in 1976 by ingesting a mixture of prescription pills and alcohol; it is uncertain whether his death was a suicide.
After his death, many of Thompson’s published and unpublished works were published in I Dream Myself Into Being: Collected Poems (Anansi Press, 1991) and John Thompson: Collected Poems and Translations (Gooselane Editions, 1995).
For a more extensive biography: http://stu-sites.ca/nble/t/thompson_john.html
Thompson entered a Master’s program in Psychology at Michigan State University in 1960, but in 1961 switched to a Master’s program in Comparative Literature, in which he received a PhD in 1966, and moved his family immediately to Sackville, New Brunswick, where he had accepted a position as an Assistant Professor at Mount Allison University.
In 1973 Thompson published his first book of poetry, At the Edge of the Chopping There Are No Secrets, and wrote nearly a third of his second, Stilt Jack, a book of 38 ghazals, published posthumously in 1978.
Thompson fell in love with the managing editor of his publisher, Shirley Gibson, in 1975, and his wife and daughter left him. He took a sabbatical from Mount Allison for research purposes, living with Gibson and her two sons. However, Thompson suffered greatly from alcoholism and mental illness, and after having a breakdown, returned to Sackville and resumed his teaching position. Gibson continually told him that she refused to live with him again until he stopped drinking, but he would not comply. Thompson died in 1976 by ingesting a mixture of prescription pills and alcohol; it is uncertain whether his death was a suicide.
After his death, many of Thompson’s published and unpublished works were published in I Dream Myself Into Being: Collected Poems (Anansi Press, 1991) and John Thompson: Collected Poems and Translations (Gooselane Editions, 1995).
For a more extensive biography: http://stu-sites.ca/nble/t/thompson_john.html
I am dark
I’ll wash my own hands.
All the bad fighting, people
in bad brew;
I’ll have to die: no one’s
worth it.
Lord: (three words unclear)
sit (one word unclear)
I’ll (one word unclear)
with you
Published in John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations (Gooselane Editions, 1995).
I’ll wash my own hands.
All the bad fighting, people
in bad brew;
I’ll have to die: no one’s
worth it.
Lord: (three words unclear)
sit (one word unclear)
I’ll (one word unclear)
with you
Published in John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations (Gooselane Editions, 1995).
Critical Analysis: Unintelligibility: the power of context in “GHAZAL XXXIX”
Blaire Webber (Advanced Poetry Workshop)
John Thompson is widely credited with being the first to bring the ghazal to Canada. The ghazal is a poetic form that, as Thompson describes, “proceeds by couplets which (and here, perhaps, is the great interest in the form for Western writers) have no necessary logical, progressive, narrative, thematic (or whatever) connection” (Lista). Thompson’s poems certainly achieve this, as their ideas seem quite scattered and random. This is the first of many reasons why context—understanding Thompson’s preferred type of poem—is important when analyzing his works. A natural response to poetry is to try and make sense of it and try to understand what holds it together; this however, is not necessarily possible with Thompson’s poetry (nor, ironically, with Thompson himself). Instead, his ghazals must be taken for what they are: couplets which must be understood independently.
“GHAZAL XXXIX” is best understood independently from his 38 preceding ghazals. This poem is the last one he wrote, only called the 39th because it was written after the 38th and “might have been” the next (Hill). It is said to have been abandoned in the Tantramarsh Club in Sackville, after Thompson threw and ground it into the floor with his boot. This fact in itself is quite telling of his mental state near his death; he was frustrated enough with his poetry that, in his drunkenness, his anger physically manifested itself. That there are unintelligible sections in Ghazal XXXIX serves as a record or archive of this anger, and in a way, becomes a part of the poem.
The poor context in which Thompson wrote his poem is not to say that the words are weightless, as his mental state is also highlighted in his words. For example, the first line of the poem, “I am dark,” may be in reference to his darkness experienced by depression (1). The next line, “I’ll wash my own hands,” is likely a reference to Macbeth, wherein compulsive hand-washing is a major theme (2). Thompson would have been familiar with literary references because of his high level of education in Comparative Literature. Although this seems a stretched connection, it follows the lack of content and poor organization of ideas that poem follows. Furthermore, in using this reference, Thompson could have been referring to ridding himself of his compulsive drinking. The specificity that he was going to wash “his own” hands (2) could be referring to the fact that he is alone; he was abandoned by his mother when he was a child, his wife and daughter left him, and his relationship with Shirley Gibson had recently ended. So, perhaps Thompson did have someone to “wash his hands” for him (whether he meant it literally or metaphorically), but now he does not (2).
Thompson’s next couplet, “All the bad fighting, people/in bad brew,” (3-4) quite plainly seems to refer to rage itself; “brew[ing]” (4) is often associated with storm imagery, which is then metaphorically associated with anger or chaos. From here, his negative mood is further accentuated when he says, “I’ll have to die: no one’s/worth it” (5-6). This couplet could be read in a few different ways; first, it could be read as “I’ll have to die: no one’s,” (5) as in, “I’ll have to die [alone]” (5); second, it could be read, “I’ll have to die […because] [n]o one’s/worth it” (5-6). If we consider why Thompson is alone, this becomes quite interesting; Gibson, his lover, had given him an ultimatum, saying that she would not consider living together unless he stopped drinking. Perhaps in saying “no one’s/worth it” (5-6) he means that his relationship with Gibson is not worth giving up drinking and that he will “have to die” because that is easier than giving it up (5). It is also possible that he sees his options as being either dying in love or dying with alcohol, to which he, unfortunately, chooses alcohol.
If we understand the earlier parts of the poem to be an admission of needing alcohol, it is after giving in to his desire that the poem becomes illegible: “Lord (three words unclear)/sit (one word unclear)//I’ll (one word unclear)/with you” (7-10).This can be read as Thompson’s understanding that he is soon to die, making him sneak in a last minute repentance of some sort. Rather poetically, just as with the uncertainty regarding his intent to die, there is uncertainty regarding what his very last lines of the poem were supposed to mean. One possible conclusion creates a link between autopsies, for both his life and his works, as inconclusive.
As a newer form of poetry for Canadians, Thompson’s Ghazals stumped readers who were trying to consider the meaning of the poem. Thompson, in many ways, appears to have used this form, and particularly “GHAZAL XXXIX,” to confuse readers particularly with the purpose and desires of his own life. Although skewed in their meaning, Thompson’s poems provide an outlet for his own experiences of loneliness, anger, and darkness.
Works Cited (for analysis):
Hill, Eric. "John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations." Fiddlehead 1996: 118-22. University of New Brunswick. Accessed online 3 Nov. 2015.
Lista, Michael. "I’m Gone: Booze, Suicide and John Thompson." All Lit Up. All Lit Up, 22 Apr. 2015. Accessed online 2 Nov. 2015.
Thompson, John. “GHAZAL XXXIX.” Ed. Peter Sanger. John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations. Fredericton: Gooselane Editions, 1995. 259.
John Thompson is widely credited with being the first to bring the ghazal to Canada. The ghazal is a poetic form that, as Thompson describes, “proceeds by couplets which (and here, perhaps, is the great interest in the form for Western writers) have no necessary logical, progressive, narrative, thematic (or whatever) connection” (Lista). Thompson’s poems certainly achieve this, as their ideas seem quite scattered and random. This is the first of many reasons why context—understanding Thompson’s preferred type of poem—is important when analyzing his works. A natural response to poetry is to try and make sense of it and try to understand what holds it together; this however, is not necessarily possible with Thompson’s poetry (nor, ironically, with Thompson himself). Instead, his ghazals must be taken for what they are: couplets which must be understood independently.
“GHAZAL XXXIX” is best understood independently from his 38 preceding ghazals. This poem is the last one he wrote, only called the 39th because it was written after the 38th and “might have been” the next (Hill). It is said to have been abandoned in the Tantramarsh Club in Sackville, after Thompson threw and ground it into the floor with his boot. This fact in itself is quite telling of his mental state near his death; he was frustrated enough with his poetry that, in his drunkenness, his anger physically manifested itself. That there are unintelligible sections in Ghazal XXXIX serves as a record or archive of this anger, and in a way, becomes a part of the poem.
The poor context in which Thompson wrote his poem is not to say that the words are weightless, as his mental state is also highlighted in his words. For example, the first line of the poem, “I am dark,” may be in reference to his darkness experienced by depression (1). The next line, “I’ll wash my own hands,” is likely a reference to Macbeth, wherein compulsive hand-washing is a major theme (2). Thompson would have been familiar with literary references because of his high level of education in Comparative Literature. Although this seems a stretched connection, it follows the lack of content and poor organization of ideas that poem follows. Furthermore, in using this reference, Thompson could have been referring to ridding himself of his compulsive drinking. The specificity that he was going to wash “his own” hands (2) could be referring to the fact that he is alone; he was abandoned by his mother when he was a child, his wife and daughter left him, and his relationship with Shirley Gibson had recently ended. So, perhaps Thompson did have someone to “wash his hands” for him (whether he meant it literally or metaphorically), but now he does not (2).
Thompson’s next couplet, “All the bad fighting, people/in bad brew,” (3-4) quite plainly seems to refer to rage itself; “brew[ing]” (4) is often associated with storm imagery, which is then metaphorically associated with anger or chaos. From here, his negative mood is further accentuated when he says, “I’ll have to die: no one’s/worth it” (5-6). This couplet could be read in a few different ways; first, it could be read as “I’ll have to die: no one’s,” (5) as in, “I’ll have to die [alone]” (5); second, it could be read, “I’ll have to die […because] [n]o one’s/worth it” (5-6). If we consider why Thompson is alone, this becomes quite interesting; Gibson, his lover, had given him an ultimatum, saying that she would not consider living together unless he stopped drinking. Perhaps in saying “no one’s/worth it” (5-6) he means that his relationship with Gibson is not worth giving up drinking and that he will “have to die” because that is easier than giving it up (5). It is also possible that he sees his options as being either dying in love or dying with alcohol, to which he, unfortunately, chooses alcohol.
If we understand the earlier parts of the poem to be an admission of needing alcohol, it is after giving in to his desire that the poem becomes illegible: “Lord (three words unclear)/sit (one word unclear)//I’ll (one word unclear)/with you” (7-10).This can be read as Thompson’s understanding that he is soon to die, making him sneak in a last minute repentance of some sort. Rather poetically, just as with the uncertainty regarding his intent to die, there is uncertainty regarding what his very last lines of the poem were supposed to mean. One possible conclusion creates a link between autopsies, for both his life and his works, as inconclusive.
As a newer form of poetry for Canadians, Thompson’s Ghazals stumped readers who were trying to consider the meaning of the poem. Thompson, in many ways, appears to have used this form, and particularly “GHAZAL XXXIX,” to confuse readers particularly with the purpose and desires of his own life. Although skewed in their meaning, Thompson’s poems provide an outlet for his own experiences of loneliness, anger, and darkness.
Works Cited (for analysis):
Hill, Eric. "John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations." Fiddlehead 1996: 118-22. University of New Brunswick. Accessed online 3 Nov. 2015.
Lista, Michael. "I’m Gone: Booze, Suicide and John Thompson." All Lit Up. All Lit Up, 22 Apr. 2015. Accessed online 2 Nov. 2015.
Thompson, John. “GHAZAL XXXIX.” Ed. Peter Sanger. John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations. Fredericton: Gooselane Editions, 1995. 259.
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Thompson, John. At the Edge of the Chopping There Are No Secrets. Toronto: Anansi Press, 1973.
---. I Dreamed Myself Into Being. Toronto: Anansi Press, 1991.
---. John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations. Eds. Peter Sanger and René Char Fredericton: Gooselane Editions, 1995.
---. Stilt Jack. Toronto: Anansi Press, 1978.
Secondary Sources
Armstrong, Tammy. "Between the Sky and the Stove: John Thomspon' Animal Encounters and the Extra-Linguistic Experience." Studies in Canadian Literature 39.2 (2014): 149-68. Literature Online.
Barbour, Douglas. "Canadian Travelers on an Orient Express(ion): John Thompson's Stilt Jack & Phyllis Webb's Water and Light." Essays in Canadian Literature, edited by Jørn Carlsen and Bengt Streijffert, Lund, 1989, pp. 1-18. MLA International Bibliography.
Beardsworth, Adam. "Weapons of Choice: Pain and Violence in the Ecological Poetics of René Char and John Thompson." Canadian Poetry 72 (2013): 65-85. Literature Online.
Bell, John. "Takhallus in Stilt Jack." The Antigonish Review 102-103 (1995): 302-6. MLA International Bibliography.
Bringhurst, Robert. "Belay to Words." The Antigonish Review 102-103 (1995): 307-10. MLA International Bibliography.
Clarke, George Elliott. "Sounding John Thompson's White Noise." Studies in Canadian Literature 36.2 (2011): 5-31. Literature Online.
Cooper, Allan. "'I Must Write the Poem.": A Review Article of John Thompson's Stilt Jack." The Antigonish Review 42 (1980): 91-98. MLA International Bibliography.
Coriat, Isador. "The Hysteria of Lady Macbeth - An Analysis of the Sleepwalking Scene." Boston: Four Seas Co., 1920.
Farwell, George. "A Man of Quality: John Thompson." Meanjin 28 (1969): 132. Literature Online.
Hill, Eric. "John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations." Fiddlehead Magazine (1996): 118-22. University of New Brunswick.
Lista, Michael. "I’m Gone: Booze, Suicide and John Thompson." All Lit Up. All Lit Up, 22 Apr. 2015.
Marshall, Tom. "A Consciousness of the Knife-Edge." Essays on Canadian Writing 12 (1978): 204-09. MLA International Bibliography.
Sanger, Peter. "'Act III or IV?': An Introduction to John Thompson." Antigonish Review 102/103 (1995): 230-49. Literature Online.
---. "John Thompson." New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia. St. Thomas University, 2013.
---. "Night Sea Voyage: John Thompson." Arc 62 (2009): 72-85. Literature Online.
Quon, Anna. "A New Look at Poet John Thompson." Atlantic Books Today. Atlantic Books Today, 28 Apr. 2015.
Winger, Rob. "A Brief History of the Canadian Ghazal." Arc Poetry Magazine. Arc Poetry Magazine, 3 June 2009.
---. "Angler Poetics and Positive Capability in John Thompson's Stilt Jack." Canadian Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reviews 78 (2016): 67-90. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "John Thompson, Phyllis Webb, and the Roots of the Free-Verse Ghazal in Canada." Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences. 71.4 (2010): 1305. Carleton University.
Thompson, John. At the Edge of the Chopping There Are No Secrets. Toronto: Anansi Press, 1973.
---. I Dreamed Myself Into Being. Toronto: Anansi Press, 1991.
---. John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations. Eds. Peter Sanger and René Char Fredericton: Gooselane Editions, 1995.
---. Stilt Jack. Toronto: Anansi Press, 1978.
Secondary Sources
Armstrong, Tammy. "Between the Sky and the Stove: John Thomspon' Animal Encounters and the Extra-Linguistic Experience." Studies in Canadian Literature 39.2 (2014): 149-68. Literature Online.
Barbour, Douglas. "Canadian Travelers on an Orient Express(ion): John Thompson's Stilt Jack & Phyllis Webb's Water and Light." Essays in Canadian Literature, edited by Jørn Carlsen and Bengt Streijffert, Lund, 1989, pp. 1-18. MLA International Bibliography.
Beardsworth, Adam. "Weapons of Choice: Pain and Violence in the Ecological Poetics of René Char and John Thompson." Canadian Poetry 72 (2013): 65-85. Literature Online.
Bell, John. "Takhallus in Stilt Jack." The Antigonish Review 102-103 (1995): 302-6. MLA International Bibliography.
Bringhurst, Robert. "Belay to Words." The Antigonish Review 102-103 (1995): 307-10. MLA International Bibliography.
Clarke, George Elliott. "Sounding John Thompson's White Noise." Studies in Canadian Literature 36.2 (2011): 5-31. Literature Online.
Cooper, Allan. "'I Must Write the Poem.": A Review Article of John Thompson's Stilt Jack." The Antigonish Review 42 (1980): 91-98. MLA International Bibliography.
Coriat, Isador. "The Hysteria of Lady Macbeth - An Analysis of the Sleepwalking Scene." Boston: Four Seas Co., 1920.
Farwell, George. "A Man of Quality: John Thompson." Meanjin 28 (1969): 132. Literature Online.
Hill, Eric. "John Thompson: Collected Poems & Translations." Fiddlehead Magazine (1996): 118-22. University of New Brunswick.
Lista, Michael. "I’m Gone: Booze, Suicide and John Thompson." All Lit Up. All Lit Up, 22 Apr. 2015.
Marshall, Tom. "A Consciousness of the Knife-Edge." Essays on Canadian Writing 12 (1978): 204-09. MLA International Bibliography.
Sanger, Peter. "'Act III or IV?': An Introduction to John Thompson." Antigonish Review 102/103 (1995): 230-49. Literature Online.
---. "John Thompson." New Brunswick Literary Encyclopedia. St. Thomas University, 2013.
---. "Night Sea Voyage: John Thompson." Arc 62 (2009): 72-85. Literature Online.
Quon, Anna. "A New Look at Poet John Thompson." Atlantic Books Today. Atlantic Books Today, 28 Apr. 2015.
Winger, Rob. "A Brief History of the Canadian Ghazal." Arc Poetry Magazine. Arc Poetry Magazine, 3 June 2009.
---. "Angler Poetics and Positive Capability in John Thompson's Stilt Jack." Canadian Poetry: Studies, Documents, Reviews 78 (2016): 67-90. MLA International Bibliography.
---. "John Thompson, Phyllis Webb, and the Roots of the Free-Verse Ghazal in Canada." Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences. 71.4 (2010): 1305. Carleton University.
