In the United States, where I live and teach, and where poetry often follows
literary fashions and cultural fads, W.H. Auden's life and work have largely
fallen from view. It could be true of other places too. This is unfortunate
because Auden was a passionate poet, and an intensely political person for much
of his life, and he deserves to be remembered more widely than he is today. I
hope that Nibir K. Ghosh's new, invigorating and intriguing book about Auden
changes all this, and that it introduces Auden to a new generation of
English-language readers all around the world. Ghosh wisely views Auden as a