Collected Poems

One of the greatest poets of the 20th century, whose writings cover a wide range of topics, from classical style to current events. I enjoy reading his poems again and again because of their rich emotional content and exquisite prose. The human experience is beautifully and uniquely captured by Auden, who gets right to the heart of it.

An incredible collection of poetry. Auden, from the start, demonstrates talent, skill, and acuity and varies the subject matter, content, style, and composition to ensure that one is never bored with what he presents to the reader. I was thrilled reading this. It particularly picks up at the 1/4th mark and delivers a relentless series of poems that truly make you stop and think, to consider, to observe, and to dream. What a great collection- worth reading for all lovers of poetry.

4.25 stars!

Poems from a bygone age. Very few touched or moved me at all. There's not much fun here, either. Nor lightness. Repressed Englishness, perhaps? Twelve Songs No. 9 is brilliant, of course, and Night Mail is fun. I found more humanity in Louis Macneice, which surprised me.

This book was very well written with dynamic characters and an exciting plot. However, the subject matter got under my skin in a way that made me profoundly uncomfortable. You know how there are some things that you just can't "unsee"? Well, I can't unread this and I sort of wish that I could. Human nature can be profoundly ugly and dark and this shines a light on some of the absolute worst of it.

my first foray into auden- "dichtung und wahrheit (an unwritten poem)" is possibly the most romantic thing i have ever read, because it does not pretend at perfection. there is a lot left for me to read in here, and am enjoying how long i will be able to take my time with him and possibly never be done.

Auden's "O Tell Me The Truth About Love" brings me to tears every time. I am in awe of his convincing, open-handed, emotional style.

As the cover says "all the poems that W.H. Auden wished to preserve, in the texts that received his final approval." The anthology is in chronological order so you can see how his style evolved. This is a must for Auden fans, but would be quite a slog for people who only know a couple of his famous poems and want to dip in a little more.