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Wystan Hugh Auden (1907–1973) was a British-American poet, playwright, and essayist. Born in York, England, to a middle-class family, Auden began writing poetry while he was a student at Gresham’s School in Norfolk. Auden later attended Oxford, where he studied under J. R. R. Tolkien, among other literary luminaries. Auden’s post-university life was rich and varied. He taught at English prep schools for several years before relocating to the United States, where he later obtained citizenship. He spent the rest of his life moving between New York, his summer home in Austria, and Oxford, where he lectured for three weeks each year. All the while, Auden published prolifically, frequently collaborating with fellow writers and composers. Among the hundreds of poems and essays published during his lifetime, Auden experimented with an astonishing range of styles and forms. He’s remembered today for the technical facility of his verse as well as his exploration of such topics as morality, love, politics, and religion. Though critics have often been split in their assessment of Auden, most rank him among the greatest English-language poets of the twentieth century.

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