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W.H. Auden: Poems Selected by John Fuller
W. H. Auden (1907-73) came to prominence in the 1930s among a generation of outspoken poets that included his friends Louis MacNeice, Stephen Spender and C. Day Lewis. But he was also an intimate and lyrical poet of great originality, and a master craftsman of some of the most cherished and influential poems of the past century. Other volumes in this series "Betjemen", "Eliot", "Plath", "Hughes" and "Yeats".
112 pages, Hardcover
First published September 14, 1998
About the author
W.H. Auden
597 books1,078 followersPoems, published in such collections as
Look, Stranger!
(1936) and
The Shield of Achilles
(1955), established importance of British-American writer and critic Wystan Hugh Auden in 20th-century literature.
In and near Birmingham, he developed in a professional middle-class family. He attended English independent schools and studied at Christ church, Oxford. From 1927, Auden and Christopher Isherwood maintained a lasting but intermittent sexual friendship despite briefer but more intense relations with other men. Auden passed a few months in Berlin in 1928 and 1929.
He then spent five years from 1930 to 1935, teaching in English schools and then traveled to Iceland and China for books about his journeys. People noted stylistic and technical achievement, engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and variety in tone, form and content. He came to wide attention at the age of 23 years in 1930 with his first book, Poems ; The Orators followed in 1932.
Three plays in collaboration with Christopher Isherwood in 1935 to 1938 built his reputation in a left-wing politics.
People best know this Anglo for love such as "Funeral Blues," for political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939," for culture and psychology, such as The Age of Anxiety , and for religion, such as For the Time Being and "Horae Canonicae." In 1939, partly to escape a liberal reputation, Auden moved to the United States. Auden and Christopher Isherwood maintained a lasting but intermittent sexual friendship to 1939. In 1939, Auden fell in lust with Chester Kallman and regarded their relation as a marriage.
From 1941, Auden taught in universities. This relationship ended in 1941, when Chester Kallman refused to accept the faithful relation that Auden demanded, but the two maintained their friendship.
Auden taught in universities through 1945. His work, including the long For the Time Being and The Sea and the Mirror , in the 1940s focused on religious themes. He attained citizenship in 1946.
The title of his long The Age of Anxiety , a popular phrase, described the modern era; it won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1947. From 1947, he wintered in New York and summered in Ischia. From 1947, Auden and Chester Kallman lived in the same house or apartment in a non-sexual relation and often collaborated on opera libretti, such as The Rake's Progress for music of Igor Stravinsky until death of Auden.
Occasional visiting professorships followed in the 1950s. From 1956, he served as professor at Oxford. He wintered in New York and summered in Ischia through 1957. From 1958, he wintered usually in New York and summered in Kirchstetten, Austria.
He served as professor at Oxford to 1961; his popular lectures with students and faculty served as the basis of his prose The Dyer's Hand in 1962.
Auden, a prolific prose essayist, reviewed political, psychological and religious subjects, and worked at various times on documentary films, plays, and other forms of performance. Throughout his controversial and influential career, views on his work ranged from sharply dismissive, treating him as a lesser follower of William Butler Yeats and T.S. Eliot, to strongly affirmative, as claim of Joseph Brodsky of his "greatest mind of the twentieth century."
He wintered in Oxford in 1972/1973 and summered in Kirchstetten, Austria, until the end of his life.
After his death, films, broadcasts, and popular media enabled people to know and ton note much more widely "Funeral Blues," "Musée des Beaux Arts," "Refugee Blues," "The Unknown Citizen," and "September 1, 1939," t
In and near Birmingham, he developed in a professional middle-class family. He attended English independent schools and studied at Christ church, Oxford. From 1927, Auden and Christopher Isherwood maintained a lasting but intermittent sexual friendship despite briefer but more intense relations with other men. Auden passed a few months in Berlin in 1928 and 1929.
He then spent five years from 1930 to 1935, teaching in English schools and then traveled to Iceland and China for books about his journeys. People noted stylistic and technical achievement, engagement with politics, morals, love, and religion, and variety in tone, form and content. He came to wide attention at the age of 23 years in 1930 with his first book, Poems ; The Orators followed in 1932.
Three plays in collaboration with Christopher Isherwood in 1935 to 1938 built his reputation in a left-wing politics.
People best know this Anglo for love such as "Funeral Blues," for political and social themes, such as "September 1, 1939," for culture and psychology, such as The Age of Anxiety , and for religion, such as For the Time Being and "Horae Canonicae." In 1939, partly to escape a liberal reputation, Auden moved to the United States. Auden and Christopher Isherwood maintained a lasting but intermittent sexual friendship to 1939. In 1939, Auden fell in lust with Chester Kallman and regarded their relation as a marriage.
From 1941, Auden taught in universities. This relationship ended in 1941, when Chester Kallman refused to accept the faithful relation that Auden demanded, but the two maintained their friendship.
Auden taught in universities through 1945. His work, including the long For the Time Being and The Sea and the Mirror , in the 1940s focused on religious themes. He attained citizenship in 1946.
The title of his long The Age of Anxiety , a popular phrase, described the modern era; it won him the Pulitzer Prize in 1947. From 1947, he wintered in New York and summered in Ischia. From 1947, Auden and Chester Kallman lived in the same house or apartment in a non-sexual relation and often collaborated on opera libretti, such as The Rake's Progress for music of Igor Stravinsky until death of Auden.
Occasional visiting professorships followed in the 1950s. From 1956, he served as professor at Oxford. He wintered in New York and summered in Ischia through 1957. From 1958, he wintered usually in New York and summered in Kirchstetten, Austria.
He served as professor at Oxford to 1961; his popular lectures with students and faculty served as the basis of his prose The Dyer's Hand in 1962.
Auden, a prolific prose essayist, reviewed political, psychological and religious subjects, and worked at various times on documentary films, plays, and other forms of performance. Throughout his controversial and influential career, views on his work ranged from sharply dismissive, treating him as a lesser follower of William Butler Yeats and T.S. Eliot, to strongly affirmative, as claim of Joseph Brodsky of his "greatest mind of the twentieth century."
He wintered in Oxford in 1972/1973 and summered in Kirchstetten, Austria, until the end of his life.
After his death, films, broadcasts, and popular media enabled people to know and ton note much more widely "Funeral Blues," "Musée des Beaux Arts," "Refugee Blues," "The Unknown Citizen," and "September 1, 1939," t
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 6, 2025
Come for the political commentary and the wry wit, stay for the mining lingo and paysage moralisé. His clarity of voice and assured command of language from a very early age was very impressive. I liked ‘early’-to-‘middle’ Auden best, but that’s probably the selection more than anything. Favourites?
‘The Watershed’
‘Detective Story’
‘Here war is simple like a monument’
‘Musèe des Beaux Arts’
‘In Memory of W.B. Yeats’
The New Year Letter (‘England to me is my own tongue’)
‘Recitative by Death’
‘The Watershed’
‘Detective Story’
‘Here war is simple like a monument’
‘Musèe des Beaux Arts’
‘In Memory of W.B. Yeats’
The New Year Letter (‘England to me is my own tongue’)
‘Recitative by Death’
November 14, 2019
I had read some of Auden's poetry that I liked which is why I picked up this collection of poems from 1930 (I think it was his first collection, but I'm not completely sure). Sadly, the poems just didn't really do anything for me? Of course there were some beautiful poems and beautiful phrases, but overall I just didn't really get and/or like most of the poems. Slightly disappointed, but I'm still interested in picking up another collection of his poetry; perhaps next time a collection of selected poems!
May 13, 2014
I still haven't got the hang of Auden
He writes too much like a public duty
as if poetry is a thing that must be done
because it is and must be seen to be
a thing that must be done.
the public school boy slang, for one, has not aged well,
and his metre's less assured than they would have you assume.
But there's as much on geology as love here,
and landscape's stony welcome is not yet quite as worn out
and even when the poet sings of love
he sings of love agreeably enough.
He writes too much like a public duty
as if poetry is a thing that must be done
because it is and must be seen to be
a thing that must be done.
the public school boy slang, for one, has not aged well,
and his metre's less assured than they would have you assume.
But there's as much on geology as love here,
and landscape's stony welcome is not yet quite as worn out
and even when the poet sings of love
he sings of love agreeably enough.
February 19, 2014
A very nice selection. Because of the size that Faber & Faber have allowed for these poetry selections Fuller has had an unenviable job in slimming down such a prolific poet's work into such a slight collection. This makes the collection feel sort of 'personal', making the glaring omissions (As I Walked Out One Evening?!) understandable. But of course this isn't a Best Of Auden album.
April 20, 2014
Seems like a pretty darn good range from all throughout Audens life, so if you want to get to know a reasonably sized bunch of his poems, I'd recommend this. I know a lot of people who love Auds poetry: personally I find it best when it's more philosophical, but when it's more metrical and rhymey, it doesn't work for me.
January 5, 2016
From the Introduction:
'The complexities of his thinking and the range of his reading sometimes present syntactic and conceptual hurdles to the reader'. You can say that again. There were a lot of these poems where I simply did not understand what he meant, but he is so well thought of that I suppose that says more about me than him. I think I want a bit more warmth to my poetry, though.
'The complexities of his thinking and the range of his reading sometimes present syntactic and conceptual hurdles to the reader'. You can say that again. There were a lot of these poems where I simply did not understand what he meant, but he is so well thought of that I suppose that says more about me than him. I think I want a bit more warmth to my poetry, though.
September 12, 2013
Básico en la poesía inglesa.
June 24, 2022
i’m going to buy a copy of my own because this one is borrowed and then I’M GOING TO ANNOTATE ALL OF IT
December 5, 2023
This collection of 60-odd of W. H. Auden’s poems selects roughly two poems for each year of his writing life, beginning with The Watershed written in 1927 when Auden was 20. A watershed is a threshold, but it is also a curiously scientific term. Auden describes a watery, industrialised landscape, “snatches of tram line running to the wood”, although perhaps its greatest days are over, the old machinery lying in “flooded workings” like a ruin in a neoclassical painting, a reminder of civilisation come and gone. Read more on my blog.
June 23, 2021
One of the best poets for sure. Love his way of expressing what you may feel deep inside but often times lack the words good enough to describe it, or even the strength to do so. He shows what is invisible to the eye of the non-understanding reader and what deeply occupies one's mind when in a dark place of despair, misery and pain.
September 2, 2019
This is a thoughtful and bold selection of the poems. Much more manageable than a broader selection/collection.
April 24, 2020
Some really grand things like Limestone, but some explanatory notes would really make many of these poems more accessible and memorable.
October 25, 2021
Some of my absolute favourite poems are in here and the collection has a wide range, showing Auden's skill well.
March 29, 2022
Fine selection of odes, nature poems and philosophies. Sometimes impenetrable, often direct. Very British!
September 30, 2023
Wonderful collection of Auden's poems.
August 16, 2024
3 stars just like my a level results 🫢🤪
December 2, 2024
Poetry
May 5, 2025
I bought the book because I liked the poem Clocks. I do not normally read poetry, but I did read the book through to the end and enjoyed reading about Auden's life.
June 11, 2014
Alla fine il segreto viene fuori
Alla fine il segreto viene fuori,
come deve succedere ogni volta,
è matura la deliziosa storia
da raccontare all'amico del cuore;
davanti al tè fumante e nella piazza
la lingua ottiene quello che voleva;
le acque chete corrono profonde,
mio caro, non cè fumo senza fuoco.
Dietro il morto in fondo al serbatoio,
dietro il fantasma sul prato del golf,
dietro la dama che ama il ballo e dietro
il signore che beve come un matto,
sotto l'aspetto affaticato,
l'attacco di emicrania e il sospiro
c'è sempre un'altra storia,
c'è più di quello che si mostra all'occhio.
Per la voce argentina che d'un tratto
canta lassù dal muro del convento,
per l'odore che viene dai sambuchi,
per le stampe di caccia nell'ingresso,
per le gare di croquet in estate,
la tosse, il bacio, la stretta di mano,
c'è sempre un segreto malizioso,
un motivo privato tutto questo.
da "La verità, vi prego, sull'amore"
Alla fine il segreto viene fuori,
come deve succedere ogni volta,
è matura la deliziosa storia
da raccontare all'amico del cuore;
davanti al tè fumante e nella piazza
la lingua ottiene quello che voleva;
le acque chete corrono profonde,
mio caro, non cè fumo senza fuoco.
Dietro il morto in fondo al serbatoio,
dietro il fantasma sul prato del golf,
dietro la dama che ama il ballo e dietro
il signore che beve come un matto,
sotto l'aspetto affaticato,
l'attacco di emicrania e il sospiro
c'è sempre un'altra storia,
c'è più di quello che si mostra all'occhio.
Per la voce argentina che d'un tratto
canta lassù dal muro del convento,
per l'odore che viene dai sambuchi,
per le stampe di caccia nell'ingresso,
per le gare di croquet in estate,
la tosse, il bacio, la stretta di mano,
c'è sempre un segreto malizioso,
un motivo privato tutto questo.
da "La verità, vi prego, sull'amore"
June 13, 2023
“For poetry makes nothing happen: it survives
In the valley of its saying where executives
Would never want to tamper; it flows south
from ranches of isolation and the busy griefs,
Raw towns that we believe and die in; it survives,
A way of happening, a mouth.”
I don’t think i’m equipped to properly articulate Auden’s range and masterful writing style, i can only tell you how his poems make me feel but i’m not going to do that, for the feelings that each poem in this collection evoked from me are so… so deeply personal.
This was my first introduction to Auden and all i can say is that the poems in this collection have truly changed my life. Thank you Auden, i can safely say that your masterfully crafted poems will forever be swimming around my brain and carved into my heart.
In the valley of its saying where executives
Would never want to tamper; it flows south
from ranches of isolation and the busy griefs,
Raw towns that we believe and die in; it survives,
A way of happening, a mouth.”
I don’t think i’m equipped to properly articulate Auden’s range and masterful writing style, i can only tell you how his poems make me feel but i’m not going to do that, for the feelings that each poem in this collection evoked from me are so… so deeply personal.
This was my first introduction to Auden and all i can say is that the poems in this collection have truly changed my life. Thank you Auden, i can safely say that your masterfully crafted poems will forever be swimming around my brain and carved into my heart.
May 18, 2012
Read many years ago and dip in occasionally.
February 10, 2014
he can't go wrong.
September 28, 2020
I have irreversibly fallen in love with this man's poetry.
September 9, 2021
One of my favourite poets. he danced in the dark but was not deceived.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews