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To the man-in-the-street, who, I'm sorry to say, is a keen observer of life. The word Intellectual suggests straight away. A man who's untrue to his wife.

W. H. Auden

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W. H. Auden
Age: 66 †
Born: 1907
Born: February 21
Died: 1973
Died: September 28
Author
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Literary Critic
Literary Historian
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University Teacher
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Jórvík
Wystan Hugh Auden
Wystan Auden
Wystan H Auden
W. H. Wystan Hugh Auden
Streets
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Observers
Away
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Men
Street
Life
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Intelligent
Observer
Intellectual
Untrue

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Shall memory restore The steps and the shore, The face and the meeting place.
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Every poet has his dream reader: mine keeps a look out for curious prosodic fauna like bacchics and choriambs.
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Of all possible subjects, travel is the most difficult for an artist, as it is the easiest for a journalist.
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I said earlier that I do not believe an artist's life throws much light upon his works. I do believe, however, that, more often than most people realize, his works may throw light upon his life. An artist with certain imaginative ideas in his head may then involve himself in relationships which are congenial to them.
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All the rest is silence On the other side of the wall, And the silence ripeness, And the ripeness all.
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It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too much. I can see myself doing it. In England, one feels all the social restraints holding one back. But here, anything can happen.
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We till shadowed days are done, We must weep and sing Duty's conscious wrong, The Devil in the clock
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You need not see what someone is doing to know if it is his vocation, you have only to watch his eyes: a cook mixing a sauce, a surgeon making a primary incision, a clerk completing a bill of lading wear the same rapt expression, forgetting themselves in a function. How beautiful it is, that eye-on-the-obje ct look.
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Goodness is easier to recognize than to define.
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I used to try and concentrate the poem so much that there wasn't a word that wasn't essential. This leads to becoming boring and constipated.
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Most people enjoy the sight of their own handwriting as they enjoy the smell of their own farts.
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Drama is based on the Mistake.
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In addition to English, at least one ancient language, probably Greek or Hebrew, and two modern languages would be required.
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No hero is mortal till he dies.
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Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they should never bother about.
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It's frightfully important for a writer to be his age, not to be younger or older than he is. One might ask, What should I write at the age of sixty-four, but never, What should I write in 1940.
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Routine, in an intelligent man, is a sign of ambition.
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I know nothing, except what everyone knows - if there when Grace dances, I should dance.
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The desires of the heart are as crooked as corkscrews Not to be born is the best for man The second best is a formal order The dance's pattern, dance while you can. Dance, dance, for the figure is easy The tune is catching and will not stop Dance till the stars come down from the rafters Dance, dance, dance till you drop.
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Music can be made anywhere, is invisible and does not smell.
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