false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173567323m/305154.jpg 305154 5 Had he been writing now, Auden might well have penned a poem entitled "Tell me the Truth About Publishing", for the publication of this special, short collection was directly inspired by the runaway success of the 1994 film <I>Four Weddings and a Funeral</I> in which one of Auden's poems was recited. Stretching from October 1932 to June 1948, the poems may have been more revelatory had they been arranged chronologically but commercial demands have placed "Funeral Blues", forevermore known as the poem in the movie, at the end, while "Lullaby", arguably a better poem, is tucked away inside. The period partly coincides with Auden going to America in January 1939 and "Calypso" pulses with the rhythm of a train taking him to his New York rendez-vous at Grand Central. "For there in the middle of that waiting-hall, / Should be standing the one that I love best of all." Many of the poems have the same jolly air and belting rhythm and indeed were written as cabaret songs. "At Last the Secret is Out" must have been tongue-in-cheek considering Auden's sexuality, yet the cover of this slim tome is resolutely heterosexual. But for dipping into Auden's work, this volume serves its purpose. "Funeral Blues" captures the sense of disbelief that the world has the audacity to continue after one has been bereaved. The Cole Porter tone of flippancy and humour--"Put crepe bows round the white necks of the public doves", makes the understated grief all the more poignant. He declares the emblems of romance redundant. "The stars are not wanted now; put out every one." He swings from the grandiose to the mundane and in doing so, sweeps the reader up in the aura of all-emcompassing love. "He was my North, my South, my East and West, / My working week and my Sunday rest." "Lullaby" retains immense mystery and power. Here he evokes the preciousness of one night spent with someone who isn't his. "Let the living creature lie, / Mortal, guilty, but to me, / The entirely beautiful." It leaves much unexplained, yet quite particular, so that it draws one back again and again: "Lay your sleeping head, my love, / Human on my faithless arm..." What an astonishing opener. --<I>Cherry Smyth</I> 133704 1994 Tell Me the Truth About Love (Faber Pocket Poetry S.) total:58|5:26|4:20|3:11|2:1|1:0| 58 245 88 3 3 0 false false Wed Feb 21 14:32:23 -0800 2007 Tue May 15 14:04:30 -0700 2007 Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone,
Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone,
Silence the pianos and with muffled drum
Bring out the coffin, let the mourners come.

Let aeroplanes circle moaning overhead
Scribbling on the sky the message...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 21:58:58 -0800 2009 Tue Mar 03 22:00:05 -0800 2009 Classic, and printed on nice paper too.]]> 4 0 false false Thu Dec 27 02:38:44 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 27 02:39:11 -0800 2007 5 0 false false Fri Dec 04 14:34:30 -0800 2009 Fri Dec 04 14:34:30 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sun Nov 29 21:33:35 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 29 21:33:58 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Sat Nov 21 16:58:21 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 16:58:21 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Nov 17 19:42:50 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 19:42:50 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Fri Nov 06 03:28:47 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 06 03:28:47 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 28 13:06:48 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 13:06:48 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Oct 07 12:17:11 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 07 12:17:11 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Sep 12 07:40:27 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 12 07:40:27 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Aug 30 14:40:22 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 30 14:40:22 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Aug 20 13:24:12 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 20 13:24:12 -0700 2009 2 0 false false Fri Aug 07 04:53:14 -0700 2009 Fri Aug 07 04:53:14 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Jul 20 06:08:45 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 20 06:08:45 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Mon Jul 06 17:52:13 -0700 2009 Mon Jul 06 17:52:13 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Sun Jul 05 01:14:00 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 05 01:14:00 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Jul 01 12:33:38 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 01 12:33:38 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jun 30 19:46:59 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 19:46:59 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Jun 25 21:07:04 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 25 21:07:04 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=305154