Alexander McCall Smith begins the first book of his The Sunday Philosophy Club series with a reference to Auden's poem "Musee Des Beaux Artes":
Isabel Dalhousie saw the young man fall from the edge of the upper circle, from the gods. His flight was so sudden and short, and it was for less than a second that she saw him, hair tousled, upside down, his shirt and jacket up around his chest so that his midriff was exposed. And then, striking the edge of the grand cirlce, he disappeared headfirst towards the stalls below.
Her first thought, curiously, was of Auden's poem on the fall of Icarus. Such events, said Auden, occur against a background of people going about their ordinary business. They do not look up and see the boy falling from the sky I was talking to a friend, she thought. I was talking to a friend and the boy fell out of the sky.
The references to Auden's works continue through the book. In his addition to the Writers on Writers series - What W.H. Auden Can Do For You - McCall Smith says of The Sunday Philosphy Club:
"I had recently begun a new series of books in which the principal character was an Edinburgh moral philosopher, Isabel Dalhousie, who happened also to be a devotee of the works of W. H. Auden and who was in the habit of thinking about— and quoting— Auden rather a lot. Auden, it seems, had something to say about many of the dilemmas and issues that Isabel encountered in her daily moral life. Mendelson [the literary executor of Auden's estate] noticed this and wrote me a letter in which he pointed out that in his view W. H. Auden would have agreed with Mma Ramotswe— the heroine of my Botswana novels— on almost every subject."
In the same book, What W.H. Auden Can Do For You, McCall Smith talks about the ways Auden has influened him as a writer. He says:
"I believe that reading the work of W. H. Auden may make a difference to one’s life. Of course we can be changed by reading or listening to something that moves us deeply, that makes us see ourselves or the world in a different light. It may be a poem that has this effect, or it may be the contemplation of a great painting; it may even be the great Proustain novel itself. In any event the work of art we are confronted with unlocks within us the recognition of something that had escaped us before. We are changed because we now understand something that we did not understand before. For me, the person who has had this effect is Auden." (7)
He says, of "September 1":
"Auden, when encountered for the first time, can touch the heart, can bowl one over, as these opening lines from that poem can certainly do...Auden has a knack of seeing exactly who we are, and with that self-knowledge comes a very particular benison." (28).
McCall Smith's book also lists the ways in which he believes Auden can inspire others, even - and especially - in the poems that move away from the involvement in public life. He uses his final chapter, titled "Auden as a Guide to the Living of One's Life", to list some of the ways he think Auden's messages can inspire others:
He helps us to have spiritual purpose and love
"he chose to commit himself to a system of belief that gave grounds for the pursuit of the good, and to a set of rituals that embodied that notion of the good; by identifying, then, with a power for good, we give our own weak spirit a strengthening boost. That may amount to whistling in the dark, but if its effect is to give a sense of moral purpose and thus enable us to lead lives that have moral shape, then one might be justified in asking what is wrong with that." (127)
He Reminds Us of Community, and of How Our Life May Be Given Meaning through Everyday Things
A poet...need not necessarily be insensitive to the major issues of the day but is nonetheless likely to be concerned with the personal moral life— with the effort that we all must make to live with our private conscience. This will result in a focus on our own lives as people engaging with others, making choices, responding to art, being a citizen, and so on. This focus may lead to gratitude of the sort that Horace voiced— and that Auden expresses too. Auden reminds us to be grateful, and that is something that we increasingly need to be reminded of in a culture of expectation and entitlement. (133)
McCall Smith concludes the chapter saying how Auden's work has inspired him:
"I have learned so much from this poet. I have been transported by his words. My life has been enriched by his language. I have stopped and thought, and thought, over so many of his lines. He can be with us in every part of our lives, showing us how rich life can be, and how precious. For that, I am more grateful to him than I can ever say." (137)
In this article with The Telegraph, McCall Smith lists his favorite Auden poems.
Isabel Dalhousie saw the young man fall from the edge of the upper circle, from the gods. His flight was so sudden and short, and it was for less than a second that she saw him, hair tousled, upside down, his shirt and jacket up around his chest so that his midriff was exposed. And then, striking the edge of the grand cirlce, he disappeared headfirst towards the stalls below.
Her first thought, curiously, was of Auden's poem on the fall of Icarus. Such events, said Auden, occur against a background of people going about their ordinary business. They do not look up and see the boy falling from the sky I was talking to a friend, she thought. I was talking to a friend and the boy fell out of the sky.
The references to Auden's works continue through the book. In his addition to the Writers on Writers series - What W.H. Auden Can Do For You - McCall Smith says of The Sunday Philosphy Club:
"I had recently begun a new series of books in which the principal character was an Edinburgh moral philosopher, Isabel Dalhousie, who happened also to be a devotee of the works of W. H. Auden and who was in the habit of thinking about— and quoting— Auden rather a lot. Auden, it seems, had something to say about many of the dilemmas and issues that Isabel encountered in her daily moral life. Mendelson [the literary executor of Auden's estate] noticed this and wrote me a letter in which he pointed out that in his view W. H. Auden would have agreed with Mma Ramotswe— the heroine of my Botswana novels— on almost every subject."
In the same book, What W.H. Auden Can Do For You, McCall Smith talks about the ways Auden has influened him as a writer. He says:
"I believe that reading the work of W. H. Auden may make a difference to one’s life. Of course we can be changed by reading or listening to something that moves us deeply, that makes us see ourselves or the world in a different light. It may be a poem that has this effect, or it may be the contemplation of a great painting; it may even be the great Proustain novel itself. In any event the work of art we are confronted with unlocks within us the recognition of something that had escaped us before. We are changed because we now understand something that we did not understand before. For me, the person who has had this effect is Auden." (7)
He says, of "September 1":
"Auden, when encountered for the first time, can touch the heart, can bowl one over, as these opening lines from that poem can certainly do...Auden has a knack of seeing exactly who we are, and with that self-knowledge comes a very particular benison." (28).
McCall Smith's book also lists the ways in which he believes Auden can inspire others, even - and especially - in the poems that move away from the involvement in public life. He uses his final chapter, titled "Auden as a Guide to the Living of One's Life", to list some of the ways he think Auden's messages can inspire others:
He helps us to have spiritual purpose and love
"he chose to commit himself to a system of belief that gave grounds for the pursuit of the good, and to a set of rituals that embodied that notion of the good; by identifying, then, with a power for good, we give our own weak spirit a strengthening boost. That may amount to whistling in the dark, but if its effect is to give a sense of moral purpose and thus enable us to lead lives that have moral shape, then one might be justified in asking what is wrong with that." (127)
He Reminds Us of Community, and of How Our Life May Be Given Meaning through Everyday Things
A poet...need not necessarily be insensitive to the major issues of the day but is nonetheless likely to be concerned with the personal moral life— with the effort that we all must make to live with our private conscience. This will result in a focus on our own lives as people engaging with others, making choices, responding to art, being a citizen, and so on. This focus may lead to gratitude of the sort that Horace voiced— and that Auden expresses too. Auden reminds us to be grateful, and that is something that we increasingly need to be reminded of in a culture of expectation and entitlement. (133)
McCall Smith concludes the chapter saying how Auden's work has inspired him:
"I have learned so much from this poet. I have been transported by his words. My life has been enriched by his language. I have stopped and thought, and thought, over so many of his lines. He can be with us in every part of our lives, showing us how rich life can be, and how precious. For that, I am more grateful to him than I can ever say." (137)
In this article with The Telegraph, McCall Smith lists his favorite Auden poems.