tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29676463.post1870681505221970586..comments2024-03-28T19:17:01.550+13:00Comments on The Imaginary Museum: In Auden's Shadow: Rex WarnerDr Jack Rosshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01805945600952222957noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29676463.post-52850904478639410822020-06-03T00:39:54.802+12:002020-06-03T00:39:54.802+12:00Interesting. I had heard of 'The Aerodrome'...Interesting. I had heard of 'The Aerodrome' which I read this week. I have his Persian Expedition by Xenophon which reads well. Also two Caesar books. The poems he wrote here are quite beautiful. 'Aerodrome' is indeed not quite kafka-esque but there are elements of it, and it is quite a complex book. There are some great-strange moments. I certainly want to read a few more of his books. His poetry looks interesting. Despite being pushed or pulled along by Auden each of these so far has his own abilities. You are bringing them somewhat out of the shadow. Today I got a trilogy ! A boxed set of three (all) of Russell's Autobiography (fascinating and sometimes a bit infuriating by turns) and inter alia Spender's 'The Destructive Element'. It is probably dated but I wanted when I saw it to see what he says about Henry James. (There's a review, 1954, by James McAuley (Australia's greatest poet -- Ern Malley --- as everyone knows: which is interesting but he ends up quoting Ekhart about the need to find the truth or not of God first...It's good to find these clippings though, esp. dated). Also got some other interesting books...But the Spender is the closest. <br /><br />Re the Orators. That is a strange book-poem for sure. As a part of that he (Auden of course) uses the style (deliberately) of Stein. But his long poems like that, possibly based on 'false premises' always have that sense of depth: and indeed often are (and yet the subject or object of 'attack' is often not really quite what Auden is writing 'about'. Although he is writing about (war, love, life events etc) but the poems transcend them. <br /><br />But Warner is a worthy writer. Amerika is pretty much pure Kafka though, I cant see that escaping to any certain sense. Sure there are allegories: but again Kafka evades everyone and we are left simply astounded. But Warner avoids that near abstraction. His characters are sometimes more Dickensian (like say Quilp) than Kafka-esque. But it gets close to that. I agree re Hopkins. I am still big on Hopkins but I agree with you and Scott that his prose things are good also. Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10272507198753290435noreply@blogger.com