Journey to a War
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(publ. Random House)
Journey to a War is a travel book in prose and verse by W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, published in 1939.
The book is in three parts: a series of poems by Auden describing his and Isherwood's journey to China in 1938 ; a "Travel-Diary" by Isherwood (including material first drafted by Auden) about their travels in China itself, and their observations of the Sino-Japanese War; and "In Time of War: A Sonnet Sequence with a Verse Commentary" by Auden, with reflections on the contemporary world and their experiences in China. Some editions of the book also contain a selection of photographs by Auden.
Auden revised many of the poems in this book for his later collections; "In Time of War" was renamed "Sonnets from China" (with many original sonnets discarded) and the verse commentary was dropped entirely.
References
- W. H. Auden, Prose and Travel Books in Prose and Verse, 1927-1938, ed. Edward Mendelson (1997)
- John Fuller, W. H. Auden: A Commentary (1999).
- Edward Mendelson, Early Auden (1981).