Wystan and Chester: A Personal Memoir of W. H. Auden and Chester Kallman FROM THE PUBLISHER
The first nuanced, personal portrait of Auden and Kallman's relationship of more than thirty years, Wystan and Chester opens a window on a central aspect of Auden's life that has been overlooked by most biographies and critical studies. In a series of witty, poignant, and occasionally disturbing vignettes, Clark recounts the artists at work and at play: the raucous, Bacchanalian dinner parties on Ischia and the quiet mornings of writing on the porch of their house in Kirchstetten, Austria. She chronicles the early years of their friendship, when Auden and Kallman became her young daughter Lisa's constant companions, and when their nurturing partnership helped to foster unparalleled creative output for both. Remembering also Kallman's steady decline in his later years, Clark paints a sympathetic picture of the talented and troubled artist and of Auden's abiding love for him. Clark's story is generously sprinkled with glimpses of Auden's eccentricities. She recollects his fascination with female anatomy and with the process of birth; his unusual mix of moral seriousness and intellectual frivolity; his love for church ritual and his conviction that homosexuality was wrong.
FROM THE CRITICS
Robert Craft
[Clark's] portraits of both Auden and Kallman are truer, and, in a seemingly offhand manner, as penetrating as any of those by . . . other memoirist friends. . . . She perfectly catches the nuances and intonations of [their] voices, simply . . . by quoting them believably. . . .Contributes richly to Auden folklore.
Publishers Weekly
In 1951, Thekla Clark, a 24-year-old American from Oklahoma, sailed to Italy. On the island of Ischia in the bay of Naples, a family friend (the young poet Anthony Hecht) introduced her into a small circle of expatriates, at whose center were W.H. Auden and his companion, the librettist Chester Kallman. Clark became close friends with both men, and "The Visit," as she called it, became an annual summer ritual, first on Ischia and, after 1957, at Auden's house in Kirchstetten, Austria. Recounting particular incidents scattered over more than two decades, Clark casts light on the private lives of these two men as distinct individuals and as a couple. She describes Auden as a disciplined writer, passionate conversationalist and devoted friend who believed that "happiness, like grief, should be private" and who rejected Yeats's dictum that one must chose either "perfection of the life or of the work" with the remark that "perfection is possible in neither." While accepting his homosexuality, he nonetheless professed that homosexuality was wrong. Kallman comes across as a more unbuttoned character, an emotional man of much charm and considerable talent who was undone by his private demons. Clark writes frankly about Auden and Kallman's "extracurricular" affairs, their reliance on alcohol and Kallman's disintegration, but is never titillating or judgmental. Bringing considerable insight to bear on critical debate over the trajectory of Auden's career while defending Kallman's own creative work, this memoir is rich in personal vignettes. By turns humorous, ironic and poignant, Wystan and Chester is a valuable supplement to Humphrey Carpenter's 1982 Auden biography. Photos. (Sept.)
Library Journal
Auden is almost always included in the pantheon of the greatest English-language poets of the 20th century, so almost anything written about him by those close to him is of interest to literary biographers and critics. The focus here is on the relationship between Auden and his friend, lover, and collaborator, Chester Kallman. The earlier Auden in Love by Kallman's stepmother is similar in the story it tells and in its disinterest in the poetry per se. What these books share is a thoughtful commentary on an intriguing romance of over 30 years. Clark's longtime friendship with both of them, which also lasted over 30 years, provides what one would expectcharming anecdotes, good characterizations, and affectionate memories. More than in most memoirs of literary figures, it gives a sense of the personalities and the affection between them. The immediacy of Clark's writing draws the reader into the circle even as it shows what a special group it was. Recommended for all collections concerned with 20th-century literature.David S. Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia
Booknews
A chatty memoir recounting Clark's friendship with Auden and Kallman
targets the partners for scrutiny from the 1950s on the island of
Ischia to their life together in Austria. The 30 year relationship
has its highs and lows, of course, exacerbated by the societal
difficulties of being homosexual. Clark spotlights Auden's
eccentricities, intellect, and both the creative and destructive life
he shared with Kallman. Lacks an index and bibliography. An enclosed
errata indicates that the ISBN number is printed incorrectly in the
CIP data (the corrected number is shown above).
Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.
Miranda Seymour - New York Times Book Review
A graceful and remarkable book, one that nobody who cares about Audun can afford to ignore...Clark is deft, convincing, and immensely touching. Miranda Seymour, Read all 6 "From The Critics" >
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