W. H. Auden, Poetry, and Me: A 102-Year-Old Reluctant Poet Reflects on Life, Poetry, and Her Famous Teacher (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781948981125)

The daughter of Russian immigrants, Gladys Dubovsky survived her abusive childhood by finding refuge in poetry. In the winter of 1940 when she was twenty-five, she took a poetry class taught by W.H. Auden. She met with Auden privately to discuss her poetry and found that his encouragement forever changed her.

W.H. Auden, Poetry, and Me is a heartwarming story that fluctuates between Gladys's and Auden's life. We see how their lives mirror one another--their joy and pain, and their triumph and loss as they traveled the world, fell in love, and wrote poetry. Spanning the early 1930s to today, the story deals with such subjects as war, love, family, loss, homosexuality, pain, and triumph. This is the story of a woman who has faced adversity with humor and grace, and of the famous poet she loved. Through it all, Gladys bestows pearls of wisdom that only a 102-year-old can give.