“The trees encountered on a country stroll / Reveal a lot about a country’s soul.” On February 23, 1956, W. H. Auden delivered a poetry reading at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Here, the esteemed British-American poet recites “Woods,” his ode to “sylvan nature” and plea for conservation in an era of rapid deforestation. This optical poem illustrates Auden’s recitation with artworks from The Met collection juxtaposed with footage of wildlife in Kingston, New York. The event, originally recorded on reel-to-reel audio tape, was digitized in 2020.
Other poets invited to read at The Met included Robert Frost, T. S. Eliot, and E. E. Cummings.
Read the poem here.
