Tuesday, May 26, 2009

News at Eleven: At the other end, [W.H.] Auden, serene

and uncomplaining, turned out some of the finest verse he has ever written. As it was a commentary, it had, of course, to fit the picture, so he would bring sections to us as he wrote them. When it did not fit, we just said so, and it was crumpled up and thrown into the waste-paper basket! Some beautiful lines and stanzas went into oblivion in this casual, ruthless way. Auden just shrugged, and wrote more.

from The Times Literary Supplement: Comrade Auden

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