名人志

《名人志》為一首詩歌，作者奧登，1907年生于約克郡。1922年開始寫詩。1925年入牛津大學攻讀文學。30年代他以第一部《詩集》成為英國新詩的代表;被稱為“奧登派”或“奧登一代”的詩人，又是英國左翼青年作家的領袖。1936年出版代表作詩集《看吧，陌生人》。1937年赴馬德里支援西班牙人民反法西斯斗爭，發表長詩《西班牙》。次年訪問中國。與衣修午德合著《戰地行》。1946年加入美國籍。后期作品帶有濃重的宗教色彩，主要詩作有《阿喀琉斯之盾》、《向克萊奧女神致敬》、《在屋內》、《無墻的城市》。奧登被認為是繼葉芝和艾略特之后英國的重要詩人。晚年常在紐約和奧地利鄉居。1953年獲博林根詩歌獎，1967年獲全國文學勛章。 1973年9月29日病逝于維也納。

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.