This significantly expanded edition of W. H. Auden’s Selected Poems adds twenty poems to the hundred in the original edition, broadeni...
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May 13, 2010
Madeline
rated it: 
Lovely stuff. One of my favorites is a poem he wrote for Sigmund Freud after his death - it's long, so here's a bit of it:
"In Memory of Sigmund Freud
When there are so many we shall have to mourn,
when grief has been made so public, and exposed
to the critique of a whole epoch
the frailty of our conscience and anguish,
of whom shall we speak? For every day they die
among us, those who were doing us some good,
who knew it was never e More...
"In Memory of Sigmund Freud
When there are so many we shall have to mourn,
when grief has been made so public, and exposed
to the critique of a whole epoch
the frailty of our conscience and anguish,
of whom shall we speak? For every day they die
among us, those who were doing us some good,
who knew it was never e More...
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Mar 04, 2011
Troy
rated it: 
This reference volume to Auden's entire published catalogue (to date) deserves its four stars simply for the scale of the enterprise and Fuller's obvious devotion to Auden's poetry and person. The inherent danger in a reference volume such as this is to let it do the interpretative legwork of reading for you. However, as Fuller states in his introduction;
“The responsibility behind the terms I have set myself cannot always be carried through with conviction: there are limits to one maMore...
Jan 22, 2012
Troy
rated it:
In his introduction, Fuller asks;
“What is it we feel we require from an Auden Poem? Something political, perhaps, something understated, but dramatic. And accurately coloured with deceptively simple moral observations and quietly charged implications.”
Maybe. But as this collection of sixty of Auden’s poems (Fuller selecting at least one poem from each year of his mature writing life) is my first significant excursion into Auden’s poetry, I came with few real expectations. I re More...
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Dec 17, 2009
Jerome
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I have a much older edition of Auden's Selected Poems, when his Funeral Blues poem was still part of Two Songs for Hedli Anderson. I love Auden. More and more over the years actually. He's not as quotable as Frost. Or as monumental as Yeats and TS Elliot. He's more like a longtime friend who's not always steady on his feet, occassionally overreaching, a bit heartbroken, a bit bitter, a bit sweet, a whole lot of queen (LOL). If I could meet any poet from the past, I'd choose Auden.
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Feb 12, 2012
I don't think this is exactly the edition I read, although mine (the Everyman Pocket Poet edition, which wasn’t listed on Goodreads) is also edited by Edward Mendelson. My favorites from this volume are A Thanksgiving (I was delighted to see that he attributes his faith to Kierkegaard, Williams, and Lewis), Archaeology, The History of Truth, The Shield of Achilles, First Things First, The Fall of Rome, In Memory of W.B. Yeats, Funeral Blues, and At Last the Secret is Out.
After read More...
After read More...
Aug 09, 2009
Martin
rated it: 
I didn't come to Auden with many preconceptions, so I really didn't know what to expect when I began reading this volume of his poems. Sure, sure, i'd heard "funeral blues", and i had some vague understanding of him as leaning towards the left in the thirties. But his style? His way of writing? Not much.
In his introduction, Mendelson says that Auden was the first poet at home in the twentieth century, and I didn't really understand what this meant until i got to the famous More...
In his introduction, Mendelson says that Auden was the first poet at home in the twentieth century, and I didn't really understand what this meant until i got to the famous More...
Jul 31, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
I have had a hard bound copy of this volume for many years. I contains fragments and restorations of many unknown or unpublished poems. There are moments here where your hear soars.
The life of man is never quite completed;
The daring and the chatter will go on:
But, as an artist feels his power gone,
These walk the earth and know themselves defeated.
Some could not bear nor break the young and mourn for
The wounded myths that on More...
The life of man is never quite completed;
The daring and the chatter will go on:
But, as an artist feels his power gone,
These walk the earth and know themselves defeated.
Some could not bear nor break the young and mourn for
The wounded myths that on More...
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Jun 19, 2009
Mark
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I'm re-reading Auden's poems out of this volume.
"What does the song hope for? And the moved hands/A little way from the birds, the shy, the delightful?"
Auden's verse is magnificent; he writes his villanelles and sonnets without a trace of the "unctious urbanity" that those forms are seen, by many readers today, to represent. He knows what he's doing, yet doesn't wantonly careen into that indecipherable "academic" enclave of poetry that find More...
"What does the song hope for? And the moved hands/A little way from the birds, the shy, the delightful?"
Auden's verse is magnificent; he writes his villanelles and sonnets without a trace of the "unctious urbanity" that those forms are seen, by many readers today, to represent. He knows what he's doing, yet doesn't wantonly careen into that indecipherable "academic" enclave of poetry that find More...
Mar 04, 2011
Laura
rated it:
I must confess that this was only a quick dip into a small selection of Auden's poetry, so I cannot comment on the entire volume of his work. However, what little of this stunning selection I have read dazzled me and I will almost certainly continue to read more of his work.
The poems that I have read here are September 1st 1939, Miss Gee, O What is that Sound and O Where are you going? I have only analysed this small selection, as I currently supporting a student with her AS level w More...
The poems that I have read here are September 1st 1939, Miss Gee, O What is that Sound and O Where are you going? I have only analysed this small selection, as I currently supporting a student with her AS level w More...
Dec 13, 2009
Annie
rated it:
reading auden takes such emotional energy for me. he has such a terrific talent, and a completely unique cadence among the modern poets. what hurts is the knowledge that -- too soon -- he left his art. after publishing "September 1, 1939" which drove thousand of spaniards to a grisly grave, auden wrote that his greatest wish was to never again write a single word of consequence. unfortunately for us all, he succeeded.
September 1, 1939
I sit in one of the dive More...
September 1, 1939
I sit in one of the dive More...
May 31, 2008
Baiocco
rated it:
These weren't great, but they were better than most because they were short. I don't understand what it means to be political anymore, and if it's anything like what I think its means, i don't want any part of it. And what a political poet is I have no clue, but Auden usually gets that rap when he isn't being dismissed as being just another lyrical Romanticist gay poet. But what gay poet isn't Romantic? Anyway, here is far and away my favorite poem in this collection and definitely the only
More...
Jun 22, 2009
Benjamin
rated it:
Hands down, my all-time favorite poet. Powerful, memorable, and technically one of the most skilled poets of the past 100 years. One of the only significant poets of the 20th century whose goal was *not* to make us think about *his* experiences as a lens to revisit our own. What I like most about Auden is how he invites us to think about our lives without acting as a guide. Also, he was one of the last truly great poet/critics. Start with: The Shield of Achilles, Musee Des Beaux Arts.
Jul 11, 2009
Misha
rated it:
I bought this book just for the inscription:
For Heather...
Because poetry can heal the soul.
With love,
Jason
(Dec. 2001)
I've spent many an hour wondering about Jason and Heather, whether poetry did in fact heal her soul, and why a gift given with love ended up on the discount clearance rack at Hastings.
I'm not so hot on Auden's brand of rhyming poetry. It just doesn't speak to me. Neruda, Whitman, Wordsworth -- these are the poets of my soul.
For Heather...
Because poetry can heal the soul.
With love,
Jason
(Dec. 2001)
I've spent many an hour wondering about Jason and Heather, whether poetry did in fact heal her soul, and why a gift given with love ended up on the discount clearance rack at Hastings.
I'm not so hot on Auden's brand of rhyming poetry. It just doesn't speak to me. Neruda, Whitman, Wordsworth -- these are the poets of my soul.
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Jan 25, 2011
Melee
rated it: 
I am sad to say I did not much connect with Auden's poetry. Most of the time I felt I was just reading words strung meaninglessly together ... I'm sure there was a meaning I just could neither see nor feel it.
There were a few poems I liked but there were none that made me think: "Yes, yes! Oh, yes!!!" (Which is often the reaction my favourite poets get out of me. Hehe.)
His extensive vocabulary was impressive, though. I found many new words to add to my list!
There were a few poems I liked but there were none that made me think: "Yes, yes! Oh, yes!!!" (Which is often the reaction my favourite poets get out of me. Hehe.)
His extensive vocabulary was impressive, though. I found many new words to add to my list!
Mar 04, 2011
Ccmaria62
rated it:
A slice of Auden:
Vintage
I
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 He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public
doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my More...
Vintage
I
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 He Is Dead,
Put crêpe bows round the white necks of the public
doves,
Let the traffic policemen wear black cotton gloves.
He was my More...
May 11, 2011
Andrew
rated it:
Auden can be beautiful, delightful, ponderous, and haunting. About 70% of the collection in the Everyman's Library Pocket Poets edition [hand-sized, 256 pages] is easily accessible and enjoyable without contextualizing aids. I understand the publisher's concerns about book size and "pocketability," but I wish this edition included the poems' individual publication dates, if not a brief biographical timeline. Surely this would have only required another five or ten pages?
Mar 04, 2011
A comprehensive collection & a great introduction to the poetry of W.H. Auden. I read this book after seeing it listed on a recommended reading list from my English A Level teacher but it was a real surprise & a real gem. Auden takes the traditional forms of poetry & makes them his own which makes his work really accessible, especially because he tends to take a realistic look at life's great events while still maintaining some Romance & drama. There were so many lines which I underlined simply
More...
Feb 09, 2010
Logan
rated it:
Auden is one of my favorite modern poets, and poet in general as well. He writes beautifully about things in the here and now (his here and now, which is the 1930s and 40s mostly). For those afraid of poetry, his language isn't difficult at all. Highly recommended.
Dec 16, 2009
Krishan
rated it:
So much to say about Auden.
It's a pleasure to read a poet who's range of style and subject nearly the entire galaxy of poetry, from little haikus and ironic stand-alone couplets, to lengthy meditations on religion and literature and history, to wonderful little pastoral poems. His breathed new life into old forms at a time when modernist poets were abandoning older teachings. They sound great when read aloud or to oneself.
Don't forget to get this in addition to his W H Auden Collected Poems More...
It's a pleasure to read a poet who's range of style and subject nearly the entire galaxy of poetry, from little haikus and ironic stand-alone couplets, to lengthy meditations on religion and literature and history, to wonderful little pastoral poems. His breathed new life into old forms at a time when modernist poets were abandoning older teachings. They sound great when read aloud or to oneself.
Don't forget to get this in addition to his W H Auden Collected Poems More...
Aug 29, 2010
Zoe
rated it:
Like many modern poets, Auden's works are undervalued. While he can write about any subject and make it memorable, it is his poems about grief and loss that always seem the strongest. A favorite to pick up and re-read at times.
May 16, 2008
Katherine
rated it:
You know that old man who lived alone in your neighborhood when you were a kid? The one who pretended to be a bitter, cantankerous grouch but was secretly a huge sweetheart - a friend to kids, dogs, cats, weird bugs, lemonade and summer evenings - and who carried himself in a way that strongly suggested a decades-old, epic personal tragedy? That's Auden.
Poetry has always been a bit of a foreign language to me - something I'm trying to change - and so I'm not sure what makes Auden see More...
Poetry has always been a bit of a foreign language to me - something I'm trying to change - and so I'm not sure what makes Auden see More...
Mar 04, 2011
Emily
rated it:
One of my favorites:
AUTUMN SONG
Now the leaves are falling fast,
Nurse's flowers will not last,
Nurses to their graves are gone,
But the prams go rolling on.
Whispering neighbors left and right
Daunt us from our true delight,
Able hands are forced to freeze
Derelict on lonely knees.
Close behind us on our track,
Dead in hundreds cry Alack,
Arms raised stiffly to reprove
In false attitudes of love.
More...
AUTUMN SONG
Now the leaves are falling fast,
Nurse's flowers will not last,
Nurses to their graves are gone,
But the prams go rolling on.
Whispering neighbors left and right
Daunt us from our true delight,
Able hands are forced to freeze
Derelict on lonely knees.
Close behind us on our track,
Dead in hundreds cry Alack,
Arms raised stiffly to reprove
In false attitudes of love.
More...
Mar 05, 2008
Sheerah
rated it:
I didn't read the entire book, and a lot of his work went over my head, but I memorized over 250 lines of his poetry. I am very proud of this. And I'm weighing that to count as reading the whole book. For example, the two concluding stanzas of "As I Walked Out One Evening":
Stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbor
With your crooked heart.
It was late, late in the evening
The lovers they we More...
Stand, stand at the window
As the tears scald and start;
You shall love your crooked neighbor
With your crooked heart.
It was late, late in the evening
The lovers they we More...
Mar 29, 2011
Josie
rated it:
Not the actual volume I read, but I was charmed by these simple classic poems. Not a fan of much poetry, but this poet has caught my fancy.
Dec 17, 2009
Mark
rated it:
He is in my pantheon. A brilliant poet who nevertheless is accessible and understandable. And to have written one poem in your life as good as "In Memory of W.B. Yeats" would be enough to ensure access to heaven. It ends with this wonderful appeal to all poets:
Follow, poet, follow right
To the bottom of the night,
With your unconstraining voice
Still persuade us to rejoice;
With the farming of a verse
Make a vineyard of the curse,
More...
Follow, poet, follow right
To the bottom of the night,
With your unconstraining voice
Still persuade us to rejoice;
With the farming of a verse
Make a vineyard of the curse,
More...
Mar 17, 2011
Auden is a poet I always forget I love then I hear a snippet of his work and wish I knew it better!
Sep 25, 2010
Lexi (Pink Jellyfish)
rated it:
i really loved it....he has some poems that move you to tears...
my favourite is Funeral Blues
my favourite is Funeral Blues
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Dec 26, 2011
Bob
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I could not get "into" most of his poems. Well, maybe I could have if I had tried harder. An interesting observation maybe half way through was I could often see "crossword puzzle clues" in what he wrote: a phrase he might use to describe something, instead of the name of the thing itself. I have no doubt that what he wrote was very correct -- if I had taken as much time to read the poem as he must have taken to write it, I would understand it. I actually think someone who li
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Jul 23, 2010
Early poems are not very enjoyable, but it gets better as you move along.
