About the Book

First published in 1987, The Poet Auden is a personal memoir by A.L. Rowse, who knew Auden from the time he was an undergraduate at Oxford and kept some touch with him all his life until his final return to Oxford. From those early days he had no doubt of Auden’s genius, and from his own long periods in America he has been able to place the poet’s life and work in the double, perhaps twin, perspective of England and the United States.

Discussion and Perspective

How far did this dichotomy enrich or disadvantage Auden’s work? There are two opinions on this open, much discussed, question. Rowse makes a new contribution to the discussion. There are well known difficulties in both Auden’s life and writing, Rowse views these with sympathy and understanding close to the man and seeks to place his work in the perspective of the age in which Auden was a symptomatic and representative figure, along with his idiomatic originality.

Intended Audience

This book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of English literature and poetry.