The Dyer's Hand, and Other Essays

"It is a sad fact about our culture", writes Auden, "that a poet can earn much more money writing or talking about his art than he can by practising it ... On the other hand, I have never written a line of criticism except in response to a demand by others for a lecture, an introduction, a review, etc.; though I hope that some love went into their writing, I wrote them because I needed the money."