W H Auden

At the recent Lifeline Bookfest, I also picked up W H Auden - The Life of a Poet which I've been dipping into. I recently posted his Funeral Blues Part 1 - the one everybody knows from For Weddings and a Funeral. Part 2 which I put up an hour ago is lesser known - possibly because of the obvious homosexual content. Osborne's book about one of the giants of poetry is written from the view of a close friend. Teacher, performer, gay lover, and public speaker - the book paints a vivid and intimate portrait of a man whose life was devoted to the art form. In reading the book I was surprised to learn Auden had a lengthy heterosexual affair with his secretary for several years. He was decidedly homosexual and it was a constant source of problem for him - wrestling with his Christian faith, his fame and his recognition as one of the greatest poets of the 20th Century.

I've long been a lover of Auden and he is a poet's poet - a brilliant craftsman also capable of writing in a way that is past intellectual rigour and creates in his works what all great poetry does - speaks to the heart. As I work my way through the volume, I'll let you know some more of what I learn about the man.

Burn brightly, Pete