{"product_id":"the-island-war-and-belonging-in-audens-england-9780674025226","title":"The Island: War and Belonging in Auden's England","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e Best Book of the Year\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eA groundbreaking reassessment of W. H. Auden's early life and poetry, shedding new light on his artistic development as well as on his shifting beliefs about political belonging in interwar England.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFrom his first poems in 1922 to the publication of his landmark collection \u003ci\u003eOn This Island\u003c\/i\u003e in the mid-1930s, W. H. Auden wrestled with the meaning of Englishness. His early works are prized for their psychological depth, yet Nicholas Jenkins argues that they are political poems as well, illuminating Auden's intuitions about a key aspect of modern experience: national identity. Two historical forces, in particular, haunted the poet: the catastrophe of World War I and the subsequent \"rediscovery\" of England's rural landscapes by artists and intellectuals. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Island\u003c\/i\u003e presents a new picture of Auden, the poet and the man, as he explored a genteel, lyrical form of nationalism during these years. His poems reflect on a world in ruins, while cultivating visions of England as a beautiful--if morally compromised--haven. They also reflect aspects of Auden's personal search for belonging--from his complex relationship with his father, to his quest for literary mentors, to his negotiation of the codes that structured gay life. Yet as Europe veered toward a second immolation, Auden began to realize that poetic myths centered on English identity held little potential. He left the country in 1936 for what became an almost lifelong expatriation, convinced that his role as the voice of Englishness had become an empty one. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eReexamining one of the twentieth century's most moving and controversial poets, \u003ci\u003eThe Island\u003c\/i\u003e is a fresh account of his early works and a striking parable about the politics of modernism. Auden's preoccupations with the vicissitudes of war, the trials of love, and the problems of identity are of their time. Yet they still resonate profoundly today.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Nicholas Jenkins\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Belknap Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/11\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 768\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 2.71lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.41h x 6.52w x 1.78d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780674025226\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e 04\/29\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/15\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e 05\/16\/2024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eJenkins, Nicholas:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Nicholas Jenkins teaches English Literature at Stanford University. His writing has appeared in the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eTimes Literary Supplement\u003c\/i\u003e, and the \u003ci\u003eNew Republic\u003c\/i\u003e, among other publications. He is the literary executor of the ballet impresario Lincoln Kirstein.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Belknap Press","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":43949036109939,"sku":"9.78067E+12","price":33.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0555\/9255\/0515\/files\/img_d1976123-52d4-4190-9882-a07a4222c77e.jpg?v=1759329577","url":"https:\/\/bookstorenmore.com\/en-de\/products\/the-island-war-and-belonging-in-audens-england-9780674025226","provider":"Bookstore N More","version":"1.0","type":"link"}