Joseph Auslander (1897–1965) stands as one of the significant figures in 20th Century American poetry, though his work has often been overshadowed by other poets of his time. Born in New York City and educated at Columbia University, Auslander’s contributions to American poetry were shaped by the major events of his era, from the First World War to the political and social upheavals of the Great Depression, and the Second World War. His poetry, while diverse in form and subject matter, reflects his deep engagement with the world around him, blending personal experience with broader cultural and political themes.
Early Life and Education
Born into a Jewish family in New York City, Joseph Auslander was initially influenced by his cosmopolitan upbringing. He studied English literature at Columbia University, where he was exposed to the classical canon of British and American poetry. While at Columbia, he came into contact with the works of the leading poets of the time, many of whom would later become his contemporaries. Auslander’s exposure to this rich literary tradition would help shape his own poetic voice.
Though his early works did not receive significant attention, Auslander’s formal education and early experiences in New York would play a crucial role in developing the ideas and themes that pervaded his later poetry.
Literary Beginnings: First Publications
Joseph Auslander’s earliest poetry was marked by his formalist training, reflecting the precision and structure of traditional verse. His first book of poetry, The Moon is the Number (1921), established him as a promising poet in the modernist scene. The collection was met with critical praise for its ability to synthesize the influences of both Romanticism and the emerging modernist sensibilities.
However, his work remained in the shadow of more prominent poets such as T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and Robert Frost, who had already begun to dominate the literary landscape. Despite this, Auslander’s poetry remained distinct in its attempt to marry intellectual rigor with a keen attention to social and political realities.
World War I and the Poetic Landscape
The aftermath of World War I had a profound impact on the world of 20th Century American poetry, with many poets of the period grappling with the horrors and disillusionment caused by the war. Auslander’s early career, particularly in the 1920s, was influenced by these global shifts in cultural and political thought.
His poem “The Gift” (1923) serves as a poignant example of the way in which he addressed the human cost of war. The poem’s exploration of sacrifice, loss, and the disillusionment felt by soldiers and civilians alike was reflective of the sentiments of many other American poets of the time, such as Wilfred Owen and Alan Seeger.
Auslander’s works echoed the concerns of contemporaries like W. H. Auden, a poet whose exploration of modernity and war was central to his own poetic vision. Unlike Auden, who famously declared the “poetry of the 1930s” a form of protest, Auslander’s poetic style remained more restrained, characterized by a focus on individual human experience rather than collective social issues. Nevertheless, both poets’ works reflected the pervasive sense of alienation and despair that defined much of early 20th Century American poetry.
Political Engagement and Social Poetry
In the 1930s, as America plunged into the Great Depression, the political and economic turbulence of the era found its way into the work of many American poets. While poets such as Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, and Archibald MacLeish were using their poetry to comment directly on the social realities of the time, Auslander’s poetry remained more inward-focused, often exploring broader themes of personal struggle and existential questioning.
His poem Poem for the Year of the Phantoms (1932) subtly touches on the theme of economic hardship, though it is more concerned with the spiritual emptiness that Auslander felt pervaded society. While not as overtly political as the works of Hughes or Sandburg, Auslander’s poetry during this period shows a deeper engagement with the emotional toll of social collapse. He was concerned with the question of how individuals navigated crises of identity and meaning, issues that resonated deeply during the Depression years.
World War II and Nationalism
By the time World War II loomed on the horizon, Joseph Auslander’s poetry had undergone a significant transformation. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Auslander became the United States Poet Laureate (1941-1942), a period during which his work became more overtly nationalistic and geared toward mobilizing public sentiment for the war effort.
His poem The Battle Hymn of the Republic, 1942 embodies his turn toward public poetry, using the platform of the poet laureate to address the national mood and to rally Americans for the wartime cause. The poem’s call to arms reflected the themes of patriotism and sacrifice that dominated much of the American poetic landscape during the war years. Many other poets, such as John Milton, who had written in the 17th century, had crafted nationalistic works during wartime, and Auslander followed this long tradition in his own way.
His time as Poet Laureate, however, would come to be seen by many as a momentary deviation from the more complex, modernist aesthetics that had characterized his earlier career. While his work during this period demonstrated his commitment to national unity, it also revealed the limitations of his artistic expression when compared to contemporaries like W. H. Auden, who remained more critical of the wartime narrative.
Post-War America and Later Works
Following the end of World War II, Joseph Auslander’s career entered a quieter phase. His works in the postwar period reflect a more reflective, introspective turn. The turbulence of the previous decades, marked by the two world wars and the social upheavals of the Depression, had made a deep impact on his worldview.
His later collections, such as The Quiet World (1950), increasingly dealt with themes of isolation and the search for personal meaning in a world that had been irrevocably changed by global conflict. His tone, while still measured and intellectual, became more personal, as he explored the difficulties of reconciling the horrors of war with the possibility of a peaceful future.
During the postwar years, other poets like Sylvia Plath, Anne Sexton, and Allen Ginsberg were gaining prominence with their highly individualistic and often confessional works. Auslander’s poetry, however, remained rooted in a more formalist tradition, though it displayed the same existential concerns about humanity’s place in a rapidly changing world. His resistance to the raw emotionalism and political engagement seen in the works of his contemporaries set him apart, but it also contributed to his relative obscurity in later years.
Comparison with Other 20th Century American Poets
Joseph Auslander’s style places him at an intersection between the traditional and the modern in 20th Century American poetry. In contrast to the groundbreaking innovations of figures like Ezra Pound, T.S. Eliot, and Wallace Stevens, Auslander’s poetry remains tethered to a more traditional formalism, even as he incorporates the influences of modernism. He differs from figures like Robert Frost, who was able to marry colloquial speech with complex themes of nature and human experience, in that Auslander’s voice was more intellectual and philosophical in its approach.
Unlike the politically-charged poetry of Langston Hughes, who responded directly to racial injustice, or the bold confessions of Sylvia Plath and Anne Sexton, Auslander’s poems were less overtly political or personal. However, like these poets, he was deeply concerned with the human condition and the impact of external events on the individual soul.
His formalism also set him apart from the avant-garde poets of the mid-20th century, including the Beat poets, who rejected traditional forms in favor of more spontaneous and experimental styles. While poets such as Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac sought to break free from the strictures of the past, Auslander’s poetry remained more restrained, a reminder of the poetic traditions that had long shaped the American literary landscape.
Legacy and Conclusion
Joseph Auslander’s contributions to 20th Century American poetry deserve more recognition than they have received in recent decades. While he may not have had the same lasting impact as figures like Eliot or Frost, his work nonetheless provides a fascinating window into the concerns of an American poet navigating a rapidly changing world. His poetry’s tension between tradition and modernity, his search for meaning in the face of national and global crises, and his concern for the individual’s place in a vast and impersonal world make him a key figure in understanding the evolution of American poetry during the first half of the 20th century.
Though his influence may not be as widespread as some of his contemporaries, Auslander’s work remains an important part of the broader conversation about American identity, war, and social change. As scholars continue to reevaluate the poets of the 20th century, it is likely that Auslander’s place in the pantheon of American poets will be reassessed with greater appreciation for the complexity and subtlety of his voice.
