"As I Walked Out one Evening" by W. H. Auden (poetry reading)

Auden wrote this poem in 1937, when he was 30.

"Lily White Boys" come form a song "Green Grow the Rushes, O" (not the one by Rabbie Burns). Ben Jonson makes reference to "roaring boys" and so does Tom O' Bedlam's song.

I couldn't find a picture of Bristol Street, Birmingham, but trams would have been running then. The photograph was taken by D J Norton in about 1950 of a street nearby.

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• Auden
• Bristol
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• Birmingham
• poem

[thissong4you]

A beautiful reading of one of my favorite poems, surpassed only by your reading of it in "Your Crooked Heart."

[SpokenVerse]

@thissong4you It was the same reading, taken from here. For some reason it impressed me too. It must have been the cinematography and the long poignant pauses.

[persevere4]

Auden among the first “Beats”(early modernist) generation of his time, break from strict verse, wandering off confusing the purest, the critic’s of his time, readers made this a sensation along with other verse/prose poems, cubist painting, jazz improvisation, Duncan dance, Joyce the rest, the absurd Finally Brecht et al, Working hypothesis rule there are no rules?, an oxymoron? I have heard it read differently, more fervor-more passion please ” 'Now, I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”

[SpokenVerse]

@persevere4 If it sounds different in your mind's ear then the only way of letting the world hear how you think it should be read is to read it yourself. You're just one opinion of 27,000

I can only try to read it as it sounds in my mind's ear, as best I can. Most readers of poetry use an injudicious amount of passion and fervour - in my opinion. Try it and see. You might have heard Dylan Thomas read it.

[persevere4]

@SpokenVerse, your poems are manuia (pardon spelling)bread of the gods, I probably have wrong I am not into research 4 quick response to you I find just fine. As you say this recited different waysU even may recite different on a different day, it (readings) are as a jazz improvisation, its said Bird never played the same song the same way ever, as Coltrane and Desmond. No offense intended at all, I maybe should have worded different I applaud your selection, bringing this to the world-BRAVO

[SpokenVerse]

@persevere4 Thank you for your kind words. If you want to hear Dylan Thomas read it, then superimpose this link in the YouTube address line:

watch?v=lXkRPpOQLYc

[thissong4you]

@SpokenVerse That''s amazing, Tom. I truly did not realize it was the same reading. I guess the cinematography, the music, the fox, and the other accoutrments just take your brilliant reading over the top!

[ThrowingPeaches]

I adore this poem. It's brilliant, and I wish I could pick a favorite line, but I can't. I just love the whole work.

[EdNortonisMineLol]

Perfect

[EdNortonisMineLol]

Beautiful