Journey to a War

Journey to a War is a travel book in prose and verse by W. H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood, published in 1939.

First US edition
(publ. Random House)

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).

External links

• The W. H. Auden Society