Death is the sound of distant thunder at a picnic.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: W H Auden Quotes

It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more...

It is a sad fact about our culture that a poet can earn much more...

The belief that politics can be scientific must inevitably produce tyrannies. Politics cannot be a...

The belief that politics can be scientific must inevitably produce tyrannies. Politics cannot be a...

We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are...

We are all here on earth to help others; what on earth the others are...

No poet or novelist wishes he were the only one who ever lived, but most...

No poet or novelist wishes he were the only one who ever lived, but most...

Even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot...

Even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot...

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.

A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.

Every American poet feels that the whole responsibility for contemporary poetry has fallen upon his...

Every American poet feels that the whole responsibility for contemporary poetry has fallen upon his...

In relation to a writer, most readers believe in the Double Standard: they may be...

In relation to a writer, most readers believe in the Double Standard: they may be...

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too...

It's frightening how easy it is to commit murder in America. Just a drink too...

Sob, heavy world Sob as you spin, Mantled in mist Remote from the happy.

Sob, heavy world Sob as you spin, Mantled in mist Remote from the happy.

A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man...

A poet can write about a man slaying a dragon, but not about a man...

If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me

If equal affection cannot be, let the more loving be me

Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they...

Some writers confuse authenticity, which they ought always to aim at, with originality, which they...

Of all possible subjects, travel is the most difficult for an artist, as it is...

Of all possible subjects, travel is the most difficult for an artist, as it is...

Murder is commoner among cooks than among members of any other profession

Murder is commoner among cooks than among members of any other profession

You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.

You owe it to us all to get on with what you're good at.

All that we are not stares back at what we are.

All that we are not stares back at what we are.

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.

We all have these places where shy humiliations gambol on sunny afternoons.

We all have these places where shy humiliations gambol on sunny afternoons.

The center that I cannot find is known to my unconscious mind.

The center that I cannot find is known to my unconscious mind.