名人志

《名人志》为一首诗歌，作者奥登，1907年生于约克郡。1922年开始写诗。1925年入牛津大学攻读文学。30年代他以第一部《诗集》成为英国新诗的代表;被称为“奥登派”或“奥登一代”的诗人，又是英国左翼青年作家的领袖。1936年出版代表作诗集《看吧，陌生人》。1937年赴马德里支援西班牙人民反法西斯斗争，发表长诗《西班牙》。次年访问中国。与衣修午德合著《战地行》。1946年加入美国籍。后期作品带有浓重的宗教色彩，主要诗作有《阿喀琉斯之盾》、《向克莱奥女神致敬》、《在屋内》、《无墙的城市》。奥登被认为是继叶芝和艾略特之后英国的重要诗人。晚年常在纽约和奥地利乡居。1953年获博林根诗歌奖，1967年获全国文学勋章。 1973年9月29日病逝于维也纳。

A shilling life will give you all the facts:

How Father beat him, how he ran away,

What were the struggles of his youth, what acts

Made him the greatest figure of his day;

Of how he fought, fished, hunted, worked all night,

Though giddy, climbed new mountains; named a sea;

Some of the last researchers even write

Love made him weep his pints like you and me.

With all his honours on, he sighed for one

Who, say astonished critics, lived at home;

Did little jobs about the house with skill

And nothing else; could whistle; would sit still

Or potter round the garden; answered some

Of his long marvellous letters but kept none.