Poetry Special: W.H. Auden: 'The music must always play'
War, life, love: W.H. Auden (1907-1973). He was known for his virtuoso mastery of rhyme and metre and did not shy away from the great themes. Auden’s extraordinary poetic output forms the centrepiece of this special dedicated to him, 'The music must always play'.
At a time when modernism was carrying all before it, the formally conservative and outspoken Auden acquired the image of an enfant terrible in English-language poetry. Auden lived through all the devastation and revolutions of the twentieth century, but unlike the prototypical old-fashioned poet he did not stay in his ivory tower. For instance, as an officer in the
In his poetry Auden is as opposed to the rise of Nazism as he is to much modern poetry. This led to one of his celebrated provocative utterances: 'War, like free verse, is a sign of bad manners.’ Auden’s progressive political stance is clearly audible in his poetry, which is also renowned for the lucidity of its message and the perfection of its rhyme and metre.
Programme
The theme of this varied evening on the poetry, translations and impact of Auden’s work, will be its musicality. Festival poets Matthew Sweeney, Maura Dooley, George Szirtes and Luke Davies were inspired by Auden’s work and share the result with the audience. The will be a discussion on role of music in the work, and the music itself will be played. At the end of the evening the documentary W.H. Auden: Tell Me the Truth About Love, will be shown.
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Tuesday 16 June, 21.30 hours, Main Auditorium ¦ presentation Victor Schiferli