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Spoken Word: W.H. Auden
Rare historic BBC recordings published for the first time

Surviving BBC radio broadcasts of one of the most celebrated poets of the 20th century, W.H. Auden, are published by the British Library on 11 April 2007, as part of its highly acclaimed series devoted to historic recordings. The 2 CD set, released to commemorate the centenary of Auden's birth, features sleeve notes by Andrew Motion, Poet Laureate.

W.H. Auden (1907-73) is widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of his generation. 'Of all 20th-century English-language poets he was among the most fluently inventive, and the most fundamentally engaged with the human condition', writes Andrew Motion in his introductory essay to this collection.

The two discs feature Auden in live and studio readings of his own poetry taken from rare BBC radio broadcasts. Over 40 poems are included, from early works such as 'On This Island' and 'A Bride in the '30s', to mature masterpieces like 'The Shield of Achilles' and 'In Praise of Limestone'. The broadcasts span the period from 1936 to 1973 - the year of Auden's death. The majority of the recordings are being released for the first time.

Richard Fairman, Service Development Officer at the British Library Sound Archive and compiler of the CD, said: "In 2007, Auden's centenary year, there has been a significant surge in interest in his life and work. These compelling recordings, made over 37 years, offer the chance to hear Auden in previously unfamiliar readings of his own poetry. I am delighted that we are able to make these recordings available in the centenary year of Auden's birth."

The recordings are distributed under licence from the BBC.

For more information, please contact Ruth Howlett at the British Library Press Office: +44 (0)20 7412 7112 or ruth.howlett@bl.uk

Notes for Editors

The Spoken Word - W.H. Auden ISBN 0 7123 0535 1. Published by the British Library on 11 April 2007. 2-disc CD set with booklet including introductory essay by Andrew Motion, £15.95 inc. vat . Running time 128 mins. The CD set will be on sale at the British Library Bookshop. The CD set can also be purchased online at http://shop.bl.uk/

The British Library Sound Archive is one of the largest sound archives in the world. It holds over a million discs, 200,000 tapes, and many other sound and video recordings. The collections come from all over the world and cover the entire range of recorded sound from music, drama and literature, to oral history and wildlife sounds. Collection material comes in every conceivable format, from wax cylinder and wire recordings to CD and DVD, and from a wide variety of private, commercial and broadcast sources. And of course, the British Library Sound Archive operates a wide-ranging recording programme of its own.

W.H. Auden Track Listing:

Disc One

W.H. Auden reading selections from his own poetry
Date of recording: 27.01.1936

  1. On This Island - Duration: 0.53
  2. May - Duration: 1.10
  3. A Bride in the 30’s - Duration: 2.05

    The Modern Muse
    Date of broadcast: 18.10.1936

  4. Song of the Beggars - Duration: 1.59

    5. W.H. Auden reading a selection of his poetry
    Date of recording: 12.07.1961
    Date of broadcast: 24.12.1962

  5. Journey to Iceland - Duration: 3.19
  6. No Change of Place - Duration: 1.50
  7. As I Walked Out One Evening - Duration: 2.44
  8. As He Is - Duration: 2.50
  9. Reflections in a Forest - Duration: 2.10
  10. There Will Be No Peace - Duration: 1.25
  11. [radio announcement] - Duration: 1.14
  12. The Shield of Achilles - Duration: 4.06
  13. A Change of Air - Duration: 2.17
  14. Friday's Child (in memory of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyred at Flossenburg, April 9th, 1945) - Duration: 3.01
  15. After Reading a Child's Guide to Modern Physics - Duration: 2.19

    16. Poetry International 1967
    Date of broadcast: 22.07.1967
    Venue: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

  16. Fleet Visit - Duration: 1.12

    17. Poetry International 1969
    Date of recording: 11/12.07.1969
    Date of broadcast: 21.07.1969
    Venue: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

  17. Josef Weinheber (1892 - 1945) - Duration: 6.32
  18. A New Year Greeting - After an article by Mary J. Marples in Scientific American, January, 1969 (for Vassily Yanowsky) - Duration: 2.45
  19. Song of the Ogres - Duration: 1.17
  20. Song of the Devil - Duration: 2.30
  21. River Profile'Our body is a moulded river' (Novalis) - Duration: 2.42

    22. Date of recording: 25/27.06.1970
    Date of broadcast: 02.08.1970
    Venue: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

  22. In Praise of Limestone - Duration: 6.47
  23. Amor Loci - Duration: 2.11
  24. Hammerfest - Duration: 3.24
  25. Old People's Home - Duration: 2.27
  26. Circe - Duration: 2.42
  27. Moon Landing - Duration: 2.58
  28. Clerihews from Academic Graffiti (In Memoriam Ogden Nash) - Duration: 1.13

Disc Two

Poetry International 1971
Date of recording: 09/10.07.71
Date of broadcast: 18.07.1971
Venue: Queen Elizabeth Hall, London

  1. The Art of Healing(In Memoriam David Protetch, M.D.) - Duration: 3.26
  2. Lines to Dr. Walter Birk on his Retiring from General Practive - Duration: 3.16
  3. Talking to Myself (for Oliver Sacks) - Duration: 6.59

    4. Auden at 65
    Other speaker: George Macbeth
    Date of recording: 10/17.02.1972
    Date of broadcast: 21.02.1972

  4. [radio announcement] - Duration: 1.56
  5. Legend - Duration: 1.32
  6. Autumn Song - Duration: 0.58
  7. Domesday Song - Duration: 1.07
  8. The Fall of Rome (for Cyril Connolly) - Duration: 1.29
  9. 'When rites and melodies begin.' - Duration: 1.42
  10. A Walk After Dark - Duration: 2.13
  11. Epithalamium (for Peter Mudford and Rita Auden, May 15th, 1956)
  12. Eulogy (for Professor Nevill Coghill on the occasion of his retirement in 1966) - Duration: 4.40
  13. The Cave of Making (In Memoriam Louis MacNeice) - Duration: 7.28
  14. Doggerel by a Senior Citizen (for Robert Lederer) - Duration: 3.00

    15. Poetry International 1973
    Date of recording: 13.07.1973
    Date of broadcast: 16.09.1973

  15. Thank You, Fog - Duration: 2.33

    16. Auden In London
    Other speaker: Unnamed announcer and George Macbeth
    Recorded at: Poetry International 1972
    Dates of broadcast: 21.08.1972 and 10.03.1973

  16. [radio announcement] - Duration: 0.35
  17. Loneliness - Duration: 1.55
  18. Nocturne (for E.R. Dodds) - Duration: 2.53
  19. The Aliens (for William Gray) - Duration: 4.23
  20. Ode to the Diencephalon (after A.T.W. Simeons) - Duration: 1.15
  21. Lullaby (1972) - Duration: 2.57