‘The Map of All My Youth’: Early Works, Friends, and Influences (Auden Studies)

This is the first volume in a new series on the work of poet W.H. Auden. It includes a large amount of unpublished material by Auden, notably six poems written in German in the early 1930s, translated by the poet and David Constantine, and the complete version of his important early essay, “Writing,” with a new foreword by its original editor, Naomi Mitchinson. Substantial selections from Auden’s letters to Stephen Spender, E.R. Dodds, and Mrs. Dodds are presented with full annotation. Including essays about Auden, his mentors, and contemporaries by leading scholars in the field, and advice on collecting Auden’s works, Auden Studies is indispensable for students, bibliophiles, and general readers interested in the great poet and his fellow writers. Introduction; The German Auden: Six early poems – Translated by David Constantine; Auden’s ‘Writing’ Essay – Edited by Katherine Bucknell with a foreword by Naomi Mitchison; A Change of Heart: Six letters from Auden to Professor and Mrs E. R. Dodds written at the beginning of World War II – Edited by Kathleen Bell; Frank McEachran (1900-1975): An unrecognized influence on W. H. Auden – John Bridgen; ‘The Hero’: Auden and Flaubert – John Fuller; Louis MacNeice’s Early Poetry (1924 – 1930) – Peter McDonald; ‘A Communist to Others’: A symposium – Julian Symons, Valentine Cunningham, Stan Smith, Mick Imlah; Collecting W. H. Auden – Robert A. Wilson; W. H. Auden: A bibliographical supplement – Edward Mendelson; Notes on contributors; Index