The Resume

(February 21, 1907-September 29, 1973)
Birth name was Wystan Hugh Auden
Wrote 'Look, Stranger! (1936),' 'On This Island (1937),' 'Another Time (1940),' 'The Sea and the Mirror (1944),' 'For the Time Being (1944),' 'The Age of Anxiety (1947),' 'The Collected Poetry of W. H. Auden (1945),' 'The Rake's Progress (1951)' and 'About the House (1965)'

Why he might be annoying:

He was a chain-smoker.
He had a face like a prune.
He lisped badly.
He was prissy and effeminate.
Although he was gay, he got married (to a lesbian).
He didn't allow his guests to discuss politics at the dinner table.
His students called him 'Uncle Wiz.'
A poem of his was used in the sappy romantic comedy 'Four Weddings and a Funeral.'

Why he might not be annoying:

He married the lesbian so she could escape Nazi Germany.
He was kind.
He had a good sense of humor.
He loved New York City.
He once paid the fine for a New York homeless shelter that wasn't up to code.

Credit: Wieland Kalligaro

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• 20th Century Poets
• Allegedly Gay Men
• Allegedly Gay Men Who Married Women
• Dick Cavett Show Guests
• Guggenheim Fellowship Grant Recipients
• I am Known by My Initials
• I Attended Oxford
• I Died in 1973 (Ranked: 66)
• I Lisp
• Influenced by Reinhold Niebuhr
• Open Marriages
• Poet.org's Top 20 Poets [Spring 2006] (Ranked: 12)
• Poets
• Poets.org's Top 20 Poets [Spring 2007] (Ranked: 9)
• Poets.org's Top 25 Historical Poets [Fall 2009] (Ranked: 12)
• Profiles 11001-11250 (Ranked: 11120)
• Rainbow Honor Walk Inductees [San Francisco] (Ranked: 2019)
• Ravaged Faces
• Unconsummated Marriages
• Wieland Kalligaro's Profiles [Series 1]
• World Literature Today Top 40 [2001] (Ranked: 1966)

Year In Review:

For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 54.55% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 10 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 67 Votes: 56.72% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 9 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 11 Votes: 63.64% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 93 Votes: 65.59% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 80 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 115 Votes: 69.57% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 28 Votes: 46.43% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 39 Votes: 64.10% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 65 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 144 Votes: 43.75% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 207 Votes: 47.34% Annoying
In 2004, Out of 213 Votes: 50.23% Annoying