Volume 21, Number 20 · December 12, 1974
Private Property
By Charles Rosen
Auden strongly disapproved of revelations of the intimate lives of poets. This in no way spoiled his delight in reading them. Perhaps his belief that the enjoyment was sinful added to the pleasure. His love of decisive moral distinctions made the sinner who knew he was doing wrong more acceptable to him than one who sinned ignorantly or—even worse—indifferently. He himself was quite happily ashamed of his interest in posthumous gossip about private lives (just as he frowned upon wicked book reviews of other writers' works, and read them with enthusiasm—'Chester and I very much enjoyed your article,' he said, sternly and reproachfully to the writer of one such review, adding, 'Very bitchy').
Feature, 1064 words
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