Showing results for "W. H. Auden" in All Categories

When facing a moral dilemma, Isabel Dalhousie--Edinburgh philosopher, amateur detective, and title character of a series of novels by best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith - often refers to the great twentieth-century poet W. H. Auden. This is no accident: McCall Smith has long been fascinated by Auden. Indeed, the novelist, best known for his No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series, calls the poet not only the greatest literary discovery of his life but also the best of guides on how to live.

Literary critic Alan Jacobs on the decadence of Anne Rice's vampire novels and the social themes in W.H. Auden's poetry. Whereas traditionally vampires are portrayed as blood-hungry fiends, Rice's books extol the power and freedom that these immortals enjoy. Jacobs explores the moral and literary consequences of this unabashed celebration of self-indulgence. Then, Jacobs dissects Auden's poetry and explains how the poet returned to the church after realizing that liberal humanism failed to provide answers to the problem of evil.