Life W. H. Auden

1 life

1.1 childhood
1.2 education
1.3 britain , europe, 1928–38
1.4 united states , europe, 1939–73

life
childhood

auden s birthplace in york

auden born in york, england, george augustus auden (1872–1957), physician, , constance rosalie auden (née bicknell; 1869–1941), had trained (but never served) missionary nurse. third of 3 sons; eldest, george bernard auden (1900–1978), became farmer, while second, john bicknell auden (1903–1991), became geologist.

auden, grandfathers both church of england clergymen, grew in anglo-catholic household followed high form of anglicanism doctrine , ritual resembling of roman catholicism. traced love of music , language partly church services of childhood. believed of icelandic descent, , lifelong fascination icelandic legends , old norse sagas evident in work.

in 1908 family moved homer road, solihull, near birmingham, father had been appointed school medical officer , lecturer (later professor) of public health. auden s lifelong psychoanalytic interests began in father s library. age of 8 attended boarding schools, returning home holidays. visits pennine landscape , declining lead-mining industry figure in many of poems; remote decaying mining village of rookhope him sacred landscape , evoked in late poem, amor loci . until fifteen expected become mining engineer, passion words had begun. wrote later: words excite me pornographic story, example, excites me sexually more living person can do.

education

auden attended st edmund s school, hindhead, surrey, met christopher isherwood, later famous in own right novelist. @ thirteen went gresham s school in norfolk; there, in 1922, when friend robert medley asked him if wrote poetry, auden first realised vocation poet. after, discover(ed) (had) lost faith (through gradual realisation had lost interest in religion, not through decisive change of views). in school productions of shakespeare, played katherina in taming of shrew in 1922, , caliban in tempest in 1925, last year @ gresham s. first published poems appeared in school magazine in 1923. auden later wrote chapter on gresham s graham greene s old school: essays divers hands (1934).

in 1925 went christ church, oxford, scholarship in biology; switched english second year. friends met @ oxford include cecil day-lewis, louis macneice, , stephen spender; these 4 commonly though misleadingly identified in 1930s auden group shared (but not identical) left-wing views. auden left oxford in 1928 third-class degree.

auden reintroduced christopher isherwood in 1925 fellow student a. s. t. fisher. next few years auden sent poems isherwood comments , criticism; 2 maintained sexual friendship in intervals between relations others. in 1935–39 collaborated on 3 plays , travel book.

from oxford years onward, auden s friends uniformly described him funny, extravagant, sympathetic, generous, and, partly own choice, lonely. in groups dogmatic , overbearing in comic way; in more private settings diffident , shy except when of welcome. punctual in habits, , obsessive meeting deadlines, while choosing live amidst physical disorder.

britain , europe, 1928–38

in late 1928, auden left britain 9 months, going berlin, partly rebel against english repressiveness. in berlin, first experienced political , economic unrest became 1 of central subjects.

on returning britain in 1929, worked briefly tutor. in 1930 first published book, poems (1930), accepted t. s. eliot faber , faber, , same firm remained british publisher of books published thereafter. in 1930 began 5 years schoolmaster in boys schools: 2 years @ larchfield academy in helensburgh, scotland, 3 years @ downs school in malvern hills, much-loved teacher. @ downs, in june 1933, experienced later described vision of agape , while sitting 3 fellow-teachers @ school, when found loved them themselves, existence had infinite value him; experience, said, later influenced decision return anglican church in 1940.

during these years, auden s erotic interests focused, later said, on idealised alter ego rather on individual persons. relationships (and unsuccessful courtships) tended unequal either in age or intelligence; sexual relations transient, although evolved long friendships. contrasted these relationships later regarded marriage (his word) of equals began chester kallman in 1939, based on unique individuality of both partners.

from 1935 until left britain in 1939, auden worked freelance reviewer, essayist, , lecturer, first gpo film unit, documentary film-making branch of post office, headed john grierson. through work film unit in 1935 met , collaborated benjamin britten, whom worked on plays, song cycles, , libretto. auden s plays in 1930s performed group theatre, in productions supervised varying degrees.

his work reflected belief artist must more bit of reporting journalist . in 1936, auden spent 3 months in iceland gathered material travel book letters iceland (1937), written in collaboration louis macneice. in 1937 went spain intending drive ambulance republic in spanish civil war, put work broadcasting propaganda, job left visit front. seven-week visit spain affected him deeply, , social views grew more complex found political realities more ambiguous , troubling had imagined. again attempting combine reportage , art, , isherwood spent 6 months in 1938 visiting china amid sino-japanese war, working on book journey war (1939). on way england stayed briefly in new york , decided move united states. auden spent late 1938 partly in england, partly in brussels.

many of auden s poems during 1930s , after inspired unconsummated love, , in 1950s summarised emotional life in famous couplet: if equal affection cannot / let more loving 1 me ( more loving 1 ). had gift friendship and, starting in late 1930s, strong wish stability of marriage; in letter friend james stern called marriage subject. throughout life, auden performed charitable acts, in public (as in 1935 marriage of convenience erika mann provided british passport escape nazis), but, in later years, more in private. embarrassed if publicly revealed, when gift friend dorothy day catholic worker movement reported on front page of new york times in 1956.

united states , europe, 1939–73

christopher isherwood (left) , w. h. auden (right) photographed carl van vechten, 6 february 1939

auden , isherwood sailed new york city in january 1939, entering on temporary visas. departure britain later seen many betrayal, , auden s reputation suffered. in april 1939, isherwood moved california, , , auden saw each other intermittently in later years. around time, auden met poet chester kallman, became lover next 2 years (auden described relation marriage began cross-country honeymoon journey).

in 1941 kallman ended sexual relationship because not accept auden s insistence on mutual fidelity, , auden remained companions rest of auden s life, sharing houses , apartments 1953 until auden s death. auden dedicated both editions of collected poetry (1945/50 , 1966) isherwood , kallman.

in 1940–41, auden lived in house @ 7 middagh street in brooklyn heights, shared carson mccullers, benjamin britten, , others, became famous centre of artistic life, nicknamed february house . in 1940, auden joined episcopal church, returning anglican communion had abandoned @ thirteen. reconversion influenced partly called sainthood of charles williams, whom had met in 1937, , partly reading søren kierkegaard , reinhold niebuhr; existential, this-worldly christianity became central element in life.

auden s grave @ kirchstetten (lower austria)

after britain declared war on germany in september 1939, auden told british embassy in washington return uk if needed. told that, among age (32), qualified personnel needed. in 1941–42 taught english @ university of michigan. called draft in united states army in august 1942, rejected on medical grounds. had been awarded guggenheim fellowship 1942–43 did not use it, choosing instead teach @ swarthmore college in 1942–45.

in mid-1945, after end of world war ii in europe, in germany u. s. strategic bombing survey, studying effects of allied bombing on german morale, experience affected postwar work visit spain had affected him earlier. on return, settled in manhattan, working freelance writer, lecturer @ new school social research, , visiting professor @ bennington, smith, , other american colleges. in 1946 became naturalised citizen of us.

auden began summering in europe, chester kallman, in 1948, first in ischia, italy, rented house, then, starting in 1958, in kirchstetten, austria, bought farmhouse prize money of premio feltrinelli awarded him in 1957, and, said, shed tears of joy @ owning home first time. in 1956–61, auden professor of poetry @ oxford university required give 3 lectures each year. light workload allowed him continue winter in new york, lived @ 77 st. mark s place in manhattan s east village, , summer in europe, spending 3 weeks each year lecturing in oxford. earned income readings , lecture tours, , writing new yorker, new york review of books, , other magazines.

in 1963 kallman left apartment shared in new york auden, , lived during winter in athens while continuing summer auden in austria. in 1972, auden moved winter home new york oxford, old college, christ church, offered him cottage, while continued summer in austria. died in vienna in 1973, few hours after giving reading of poems @ austrian society literature; death occurred @ altenburgerhof hotel staying overnight before intended return oxford next day. buried in kirchstetten.