W.H. Auden (1907-1973) was an English poet, playwright, and essayist. His work, from his early strictly metered verse, plays, and libretti written in collaboration with Chester Kallman, to his later dense poems and penetrating essays, represents one of the major achievements of twentieth-century literature. The book "W. H. Auden, The Life and Love of a Poet" is a series of interviews with friends and family and provides a unique, fascinating and invaluable insight into the private world of W.H.Auden. It is of interest both to scholars and general readers and deals with themes as varied as: sex, love, religion, ideas, poetry, craft and art. The work is essentially a prose poem. The members of the "chamber orchestra", the voices in the book: Amerigo Franchetti, Lord Gowrie, Rita & Anita Auden, Matthew Spender and Thekla Clark, are perspicacious, wise, and brilliant. They not only provide one with stimulating and rich food for thought, they are also a pleasure to listen to in their own right.
