Letters from Iceland is a travel book in prose and verse by W. H. Auden

W. H. Auden

Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...

 and Louis MacNeice

Louis MacNeice

Frederick Louis MacNeice CBE was an Irish poet and playwright. He was part of the generation of "thirties poets" which included W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Cecil Day-Lewis; nicknamed "MacSpaunday" as a group — a name invented by Roy Campbell, in his Talking Bronco...

, published in 1937.

The book is made up of a series of letters and travel notes by Auden and MacNeice written during their trip to Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

 in 1936.

Auden's contributions include the poem "Journey to Iceland"; a prose section "For Tourists"; a five-part verse "Letter to Lord Byron"; a selection of writings on Iceland by other authors, "Sheaves from Sagaland"; a prose letter to "E. M. Auden" (E.M. was Erika Mann

Erika Mann

Erika Julia Hedwig Mann was a German actress and writer, the eldest daughter of novelist Thomas Mann and Katia Mann.-Life:...

), which included his poems "Detective Story" and "O who can ever praise enough"; a prose letter to Kristian Andreirsson, Esq.; a free-verse letter to William Coldstream

William Coldstream

Sir William Menzies Coldstream was a British realist painter and a long standing art teacher.-Biography:...

, and, in collaboration with MacNeice, "W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice: Their Last Will and Testament" (in verse).

MacNeice's contributions include a verse letter

Epistolary poem

An epistolary poem, also called a verse letter or letter poem, is a poem in the form of an epistle or letter.-History:Epistolary poems date at least as early as the Roman poet Ovid , who wrote the Heroides or Epistulae Heroidum , a collection of fifteen epistolary poems presented as though written...

 to Graham

Graham Shepard

Graham Shepard was an English illustrator and cartoonist.He was the son of E. H. Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie-the-Pooh and The Wind in the Willows. He was educated at Marlborough College and Oxford...

 and Anne Shepard; the satiric prose "Hetty to Nancy" (unsigned); a verse "Epilogue"; and MacNeice's contributions to "W. H. Auden and Louis MacNeice: Their Last Will and Testament".

Auden revised his sections of the book for a new edition published in 1966.

The book is mentioned multiple times throughout the 2007 Oscar-nominated film, Away from Her

Away From Her

Away from Her is a 2006 Canadian film which debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival and also played in the Premier category at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...

, in which several passages are read aloud during the film.

Editions

"20 editions published between 1937 and 2007 in 4 languages and held by 916 libraries worldwide"http://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n79-32198

• Date Published: 1937 Description: Hardback. 1st. Ed. 8.7" x 5.7". 268 pp. Publisher: Faber and Faber, London
• Date Published: 1969 Description: Hardback. "First Printing" 8.7" x 5.7". 253 pp.+ Publisher: Random House, New York

"For this edition W. H. Auden has made several revisions of certain sections of the work and has written a new Foreword.

"In April 1964, I revisited Iceland..." -W. H. Auden, 1965

• Date Published: 1973 ISBN 9780571081554 ISBN: 057108155X
• Date Published: 1985 ISBN 9780571132973 ISBN: 0571132979
• Date Published: 2002 ISBN 9780571132973 ISBN: 0571132979 Binding: Paperback Publisher: Faber and Faber