About
Wystan Hugh Auden, born in York in 1907, is one of the major poets of the twentieth century. After studying at Oxford, he established himself with Poems (1930). In the 1930s, he wrote plays and documentaries, and traveled to Iceland, Spain, and China. In 1939, he emigrated to the United States with Christopher Isherwood and became a U.S. citizen in 1946. His work evolved from social and psychoanalytic engagement to a Christian reflection. He received the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Anxiety (1948) and the National Book Award for The Shield of Achilles (1956). He collaborated with Chester Kallman on opera libretti, including The Rake's Progress for Stravinsky. He died in Vienna in 1973.
* 1907-02-21 — † 1973-09-28
Major works
- Poems (1930)poetry collection
- The Age of Anxiety (1947)poem
- The Shield of Achilles (1955)poetry collection
- Letters from Iceland (1937)travel book
- The Rake's Progress (1951)opera libretto
Key milestones
- 1939Emigrates to the United States with Christopher Isherwood.
- 1948Wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Age of Anxiety.
- 1956Appointed Professor of Poetry at Oxford, serving until 1961.
Themes
LovePolitics and societyReligion and spiritualityIdentity and belongingTime and mortality
Sources: oxforddnb.com · poetryfoundation.org · id.loc.gov
