No poet or novelist wishes he were the only one who ever lived, but most of them wish they were the only one alive, and quite a number fondly believe their wish has been granted.

Quote by W H Auden

Topics: W. H. Auden Quotes

God bless the USA, so large, so friendly, and so rich.

God bless the USA, so large, so friendly, and so rich.

Let us honor if we can the vertical man, though we value none but the...

Let us honor if we can the vertical man, though we value none but the...

Hemingway is terribly limited. His technique is good for short stories, for people who meet...

Hemingway is terribly limited. His technique is good for short stories, for people who meet...

A verbal art like poetry is reflective; it stops to think. Music is immediate, it...

A verbal art like poetry is reflective; it stops to think. Music is immediate, it...

A false enchantment can all too easily last a lifetime.

A false enchantment can all too easily last a lifetime.

I don't get acting jobs because of my looks.

I don't get acting jobs because of my looks.

Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.

Fame often makes a writer vain, but seldom makes him proud.

Health is the state about which medicine has nothing to say

Health is the state about which medicine has nothing to say

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

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

We must love one another or die.

We must love one another or die.

It takes little talent to see what lies under one's nose, a good deal to...

It takes little talent to see what lies under one's nose, a good deal to...

Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has...

Murder is unique in that it abolishes the party it injures, so that society has...

Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.

Men will pay large sums to whores for telling them they are not bores.

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...

The class distinctions proper to a democratic society are not those of rank or money,...

The class distinctions proper to a democratic society are not those of rank or money,...

I know nothing, except what everyone knows if there when Graces dances, I should dance.

I know nothing, except what everyone knows if there when Graces dances, I should dance.

When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate...

When I find myself in the company of scientists, I feel like a shabby curate...

Men make the mistake of thinking that because women can't see the sense in violence,...

Men make the mistake of thinking that because women can't see the sense in violence,...

A man does not mind being blamed for his faults, and being punished for them,...

A man does not mind being blamed for his faults, and being punished for them,...

A man's desire is for the woman, but the woman's desire is rarely other than...

A man's desire is for the woman, but the woman's desire is rarely other than...