‘Lullaby’ is a poem by the Anglo-American poet W. H. Auden (1907-73). It was published in 1937, when Auden was still living in England (he would depart for the United States in early 1939). The poem is an example of a love poem, but there are a number of things […]
In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle delves into the literary origins of a well-known phrase The phrase ‘cloud cuckoo land’ is well known, but what are its origins? Here’s what the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) says, for the term’s etymology:
Selected by Dr Oliver Tearle Stevie Smith (1902-71) was one of the most distinctive and individual poets of the twentieth century. Born in Hull in England as Florence Smith, she was given the nickname ‘Stevie’ after a famous jockey of the time, because she was so small. Her poetry is […]