The son of the headmaster at the Downs School, Colwall, when W H Auden was a teacher there, was the guest at an event celebrating the poet's links with the area.
Dr James Hoyland is the son of Geoffrey Hoyland, to whom Auden dedicated the poem, A Summer Night, about fellowship and youth.
Dr Hoyland spoke about Auden's vision of 1933, that a world of pleasure and privilege was about to be swept away.
The event took place at school on Tuesday, June 23, and was organised by the Friends of the Dymock Poets. Members were shown the lawn where Auden once slept out under the stars. This was one of the main inspirations for A Summer Night, which contains the lines "Out on the lawn I lie in bed, Vega conspicuous overhead, in the windless nights of June . . ."
Auden was said to be "one of those anarchically stimulating teachers that open young minds and worry headmasters."
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