Auden's Games of Knowledge: Poetry and the Meanings of Homosexuality

359 Pages·2001·1.626 MB·English

by  Richard R. Bozorth

Auden’s Games of
Knowledge : POETRY
AND THE MEANINGS
OF HOMOSEXUALITY
Richard R. Bozorth
Columbia University Press
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Auden’s Games of Knowledge
between men ~ between women
lillian faderman and larry gross, editors
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Auden’s Games of Knowledge
poetry and the meanings of homosexuality
Richard R. Bozorth
columbia university press new york
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Columbia University Press
Publishers Since 1893
New York Chichester, West Sussex
Copyright © 2001Columbia University Press
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bozorth, Richard R.
Auden’s games of knowledge : poetry and the meanings of homosexuality /
Richard R. Bozorth.
(Between men—between women)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0–231–11352–8(cloth)
ISBN 0–231–11353–6 (paper)
1. Auden, W. H. (Wystan Hugh), 1907–1973—Political and social views.
2. Homosexuality and literature—England—History–20th century. 3. Homo-
sexuality, Male, in literature. 4. Gay men in literature. I. Bozorth, Richard R.
II. Title.
PR6001.U4 Z615 2001
811.52 dc21
Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent
and durable acid-free paper.
Printed in the United States of America
c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
p 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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between men ~ between women
lesbian and gay studies
lillian faderman and larry gross, editors
Advisory Board of Editors
Claudia Card
Terry Castle
John D’Emilio
Esther Newton
Anne Peplau
Eugene Rice
Kendall Thomas
Jeffrey Weeks
between men ~ between women is a forum for current lesbian and gay
scholarship in the humanities and social sciences. The series includes both books
that rest within specific traditional disciplines and are substantially about gay men,
bisexuals, or lesbians and books that are interdisciplinary in ways that reveal new
insights into gay, bisexual, or lesbian experience, transform traditional disciplinary
methods in consequence of the perspectives that experience provides, or begin to
establish lesbian and gay studies as a freestanding inquiry. Established to contribute
to an increased understanding of lesbians, bisexuals, and gay men, the series also aims
to provide through that understanding a wider comprehension of culture in general.
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for Kevin Gustafson
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contents
list of abbreviations xi
acknowledgments xiii
Introduction 1
1. “But who would get it?”:
Sexual Politics and Coterie Poetry 18
2. “The question is what do we mean by sex”:
Diagnosis and Disorder 54
3. “Have you heard this one?”:
Queer Revolution in Paid on Both Sides and The Orators 88
4. “What we see depends on who’s observing”:
Politics and Authority in the 1930s 136
5. “Tell me the truth about love”:
Confessional Lyric and Lovers’Discourse 174
6. “Just what Appearances He saves”:
God and the Unspeakable 221
Afterword: Auden’s Biases—and Ours 253
notes 267
works cited 289
index of auden’s poem titles and first lines 299
index of subjects 305
copyright acknowledgments 337