Letter from W. H. Auden to H. W. Henze, between January 3 and February 14, 1965
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Absolute Chronology
Preceding
- 1964-12-27: to Henze
- 1964-10-26: from Henze
Following
- 1965-09-29: to Henze
- 1965-10-06: from Henze
[Manuscript]
Berlin-Dahlem
Hubertusbaderstrasse 43*
On Freitag, Feb 19th, I arrive in Rome
airport by Alitalia‡ from
Neapel
by
Alitalia Flight 189, due at 12·35.
At 15·50, I depart for Pisa on my
way to Florenz.
*
If by any chance you should be free to
pass the three hours
Aufenthalt with me
I
should be very happy, but shall quite
understand if you can’t make it.
My case came up last Wednesday in
Moabit. Result: freigespr‡ochen.*
What surprised my lawyer as much as me
was that the chief witness, whom we had
both naturally supposed was a policeman
‡
turned out to be a seedy-looking
Bursch of about 22 who, out of sheer
bloodymindedness, followed me in his
car for a kilometer, then went ahead
and denounced me to the police.
I can’t believe anyone but a Kraut
* would
do such of thing.
Hope Die Bassariden is progressing
well.
Have finished translating the Mother Courage
lyrics, thank God.* I think Dessau’s
music is very dull.
Küsse und Grüsse
von
deine olle
Tante
Wystan
Editorial
Responsibilities
- Editor(s)
- Elena Minetti
- Transcription
- Elena Minetti; Joachim Veit
Tradition
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Text Source: Basel (Schweiz), Paul Sacher Stiftung (CH-Bps), Sammlung Hans Werner Henze, Abteilung: Korrespondenz
Shelf mark: Auden, Wystan HughPhysical Description
- Document type: Letter
- Weißes Papier
- Faltung: Das Blatt ist in der Hälfte gefaltet und auf der ersten und dritten Seite wie eine Broschüre oder eine Grußkarte beschrieben.
- 1 folio
- 2 written pages
- Dimensions: 180x280 [mm] (HxW)
- Gelocht: Das gefaltete Blatt ist gelocht, so dass das Blatt insgesamt 4 Löcher hat.
- Rand: 1 cm
- Eingerückte Absätze
Material
Extent
Condition
Layout
Writing styles
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1.Handwriting, Auden, Wystan Hugh, ballpoint pen (blue).
Text Constitution
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"r"added above
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"… naturally supposed was a policeman"Continued inside the fold.
Commentary
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"… Hubertusbaderstrasse 43"Auden lived in Hubertusbader Straße 43 in Berlin Dahlem during the winter and spring 1964-1965 as artist-in-residence of the Ford Foundation for six months (except for the month of December when he was instead in New York City), see Humphrey Carpenter, W.H. Auden. A Biography, p. 411.
-
Carissimo Maestro
- Dearest Maestro
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"… on my way to Florenz."No references to Auden’s trip to Italy can be found in Auden’s biography.
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"… Result: freigesp r ochen ."Driving erratically on a rainy night, Auden tested positive for alcohol and was charged with drunk driving, processed and later acquitted. See Humphrey Carpenter, W. H. Auden. A Biography, pp. 411-412.
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"… believe anyone but a Kraut"A derogatory term used to refer to a German.
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"… Mother Courage lyrics, thank God."Auden only translated the lyrics to be sung; the spoken text was instead translated by Eric Bentley.
Automatical Commentary
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"my lawyer"Assignment not clear.
