Genealogies are admirable things, provided they do not encourage the curious delusion that some families are older than others.
W. H. AudenWhat the poet says has never been said before, but, once he has said it, his readers recognize its validity for themselves.
W. H. AudenIf the most significant characteristic of man is the complex of biological needs he shares with all members of his species, then the best lives for the writer to observe are those in which the role of natural necessity is clearest, namely, the lives of the very poor.
W. H. Auden