Auden [Paperback]

Richard Davenport-Hines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 15, 1999

A masterful biography of one of the greatest English poets and most compelling literary figures of the 20th century, Auden is the first to take the full measure of the poet's achievements, his insatiable thirst for experience, his navigation between the needs of discipline and the lure of his addictions and lusts. of photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Poet W.H. Auden (1907-1973) scrupulously never kissed and told; very little biographical material made it into his work, and that which did was often later suppressed by him. Davenport-Hines (The Macmillans) here traces many of Auden's poems, plays, essays, reviews and libretti to life events Auden never showed us, mostly notably his charged relationships with men. In brisk, informative readings of the work, Davenport-Hines matches turns in style and subject matter with Auden's experiences. For example, when discussing the poem "Spain 1937," he highlights Auden's disillusioning volunteer service with the International Brigade. The emphasis throughout, however, is on the exigencies of love and sex. Auden is shown, in early poems like "The Orators," obliquely coming to terms with his homosexuality, exploring and rejecting the fashionable Freudianism of the '30s. He mined his ultimately unsustainable relationship with Chester Kallman for observations about life and love in much of the later work, beginning with "The Sea and the Mirror." What is left out is a full account of the basic facts of Auden's life, which may leave one with a taste for earlier biographies that dwell less on the writing. Photos.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Using his literary and analytical backgrounds, Times Literary Supplement reviewer Davenport-Hines presents a tremendously thorough and, indeed, intimate portrait of Wystan Hugh Auden, one of England's most notable poets. Unlike many contemporary biographers who try to scrounge up some new information, dazzle with some brilliant insight, or even shock with bizarre theories, Davenport-Hines is concerned with truth, as much as it can be ascertained, and in offering the most accurate and comprehensive view of Auden's life that he can. In doing so, he acknowledges prior critics' and biographers' contributions and discoveries. Yet he mostly turns to Auden himself and to the journals, letters, prose, and poetry that reveal so much about his personality. From the quirky influences of childhood stories to deep-seated sexual obsessions to bold statements of ambition and intent, Auden's words are skillfully tied together by Davenport-Hines, making this book a valuable piece of scholarship and an engaging study of Auden's life. Janet St. John --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 444 pages
• Publisher: Vintage (June 15, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679747850
• ISBN-13: 978-0679747857
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 1 x 8.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #204,675 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent biography!, March 21, 2002

By 

Geoff Puterbaugh (Chiang Mai, Thailand) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Auden (Hardcover)

This is a very well-done life of W. H. Auden, a man who may well turn out to be the finest English poet of the twentieth century. It is a fascinating work, which traces Auden's literary and poetical development in tandem with all the events in his real life in this real world. The most important of them (for Auden) was his life-long love of Chester Kallman, which became quite complex over time -- Auden reported feelings of paternal solicitude, jealousy, and erotic rivalry -- all occurring at the same time! Unusually, for a major biography of a major poet, there are scenes from the poet's cottage at Fire Island, which help to situate Auden in a very real New York social world.

But none of this is what set Auden apart -- not his romances nor his politics. Unlike some other poets, Auden worked at his craft unceasingly, probably becoming a leading world expert on poetic meter.

And he worked at his art. Anyone who has ever practiced any sort of craft or art -- ballet, writing, whatever -- knows well just how hard it is to make things seem effortless. And so Auden could produce such "effortless" things as the opening to his "Lullaby" ---

Lay your sleeping head, my love,
Human on my faithless arm;
Time and fevers burn away
Individual beauty from
Thoughtful children, and the grave
Proves the child ephemeral:
But in my arms till break of day
Let the living creature lie,
Mortal, guilty, but to me
The entirely beautiful.

If that looks easy to you, just have a go yourself! :-)

In summary: a very good biography of a major poet. Highest recommendation!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Auden a biography by Richard Davenport-Hines, 1995, July 4, 2008

By 

Douglas Jewett (Ann Arbor) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Auden (Paperback)

This is splendid literature in it's own right. Davenport has gotten deeply into Auden's life and argues for it's unrelenting energy and pervasive sense of purpose. This might be missed in a life story which sometimes seems almost wearying in it's social and intellectual complexity. It is deeply and knowingly appreciative of Auden, bringing the poetry itself into loving focus, and sending the reader back to read it in a new, stronger light.