Interesting that it is not in his Collected Poems (ed. Edward Mendelson, paperback, Vintage International Edition, 1991). But the back cover says it is "...all the poems that Auden wished to preserve..."
I was driving around in the suburbs of Westchester County, NY today and all I could think about was when Matt visited Joe over the summer after freshman year.
Auden was also friends with Benjamin Britten, at least for a while until they fell out. Before they did, though, Britten set a poem Auden wrote as the piece Hymn to St Cecilia. There's a recording of it by the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge which is the only one i've heard that really captures the subtly erotic undertones. You can find it on Spotify - listen to it a little and see what I mean, for instance when the choir sings 'And by ocean's margin this innocent virgin/Constructed an organ...to enlarge her prayer.' Likewise, 'Blonde Aphrodite rose up excited/Moved to delight by the melody.' (The text is here: http://www.octarium.org/programs/ode-to-music-08.html)
Britten seems to have got a bit of a kick out of writing stuff like that for young boys (see his opera The Turn of the Screw), but thorough investigations have proved pretty conclusively he never had any kind of inappropriate relationship with them - he seems to have retained a lifelong fascination with, and love of, childhood innocence, and tried in many ways to recreate his childhood in his adult life. Anyway, that's a side point.
Auden played quite a pivotal role in Britten life, because he was the liberated, slightly outrageous friend, comfortable with his homosexuality and having all the sex, whose example pushed Britten, ever the prefect and good at every school sport, to accept he was gay.
Interesting that it is not in his Collected Poems (ed. Edward Mendelson, paperback, Vintage International Edition, 1991). But the back cover says it is "...all the poems that Auden wished to preserve..."
ReplyDeleteLoved it & appreciated it!
ReplyDeleteLooks like it's up to me to start hectoring you for chapter 21. Oh, and happy 2012!
ReplyDeleteHaha I was being polite and waiting for someone else to go first. But JPM I'm jonesing as much as the next anon.
ReplyDeleteI was driving around in the suburbs of Westchester County, NY today and all I could think about was when Matt visited Joe over the summer after freshman year.
ReplyDeleteWe had a lady contestant on a quiz show last night who came from North west of New York, Westchester County. Unfortunately she didn't win.
ReplyDeletelove your story...how much longer do we have to wait for more Joe?
ReplyDeleteHi JPM, you've been awfully quiet. You haven't popped in here for ages. Hope all's well and that chapter 21 is writing itself. xxxx
ReplyDeleteAuden was also friends with Benjamin Britten, at least for a while until they fell out. Before they did, though, Britten set a poem Auden wrote as the piece Hymn to St Cecilia. There's a recording of it by the Choir of St John's College, Cambridge which is the only one i've heard that really captures the subtly erotic undertones. You can find it on Spotify - listen to it a little and see what I mean, for instance when the choir sings 'And by ocean's margin this innocent virgin/Constructed an organ...to enlarge her prayer.' Likewise, 'Blonde Aphrodite rose up excited/Moved to delight by the melody.' (The text is here: http://www.octarium.org/programs/ode-to-music-08.html)
ReplyDeleteBritten seems to have got a bit of a kick out of writing stuff like that for young boys (see his opera The Turn of the Screw), but thorough investigations have proved pretty conclusively he never had any kind of inappropriate relationship with them - he seems to have retained a lifelong fascination with, and love of, childhood innocence, and tried in many ways to recreate his childhood in his adult life. Anyway, that's a side point.
Auden played quite a pivotal role in Britten life, because he was the liberated, slightly outrageous friend, comfortable with his homosexuality and having all the sex, whose example pushed Britten, ever the prefect and good at every school sport, to accept he was gay.