September 1, 1939 by W. H. Auden

This booklet was published on the occasion of the exhibition Where We Are: Selections from the Whitney's Collection, 1900-1960 at the Whitney Museum of American Art. The exhibition takes inspiration from W.H. Auden's poe "September 1, 1939." Auden, who was raised in England, wrote the poem in New York shortly after his immigration to the United States and the very outset of World War II. The title of the poem marks the date Germany invaded Poland. While its subject is the beginning of the war, Auden's true theme is how the shadow of global emergency reaches into the far corners of everyday life. Although mournful, the poem concludes by pointing to the individual's capacity to "show an affirming flame."