Wasley

Whether quoting Auden or some other poet, Mr. Wasley makes a habit of seeking to clarify the already clear; he paraphrases the pellucid.

Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011

Still, given the opacity of much academic writing, Mr. Wasley's is comparatively free of jargon.

Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011

Two of the poets Mr. Wasley embraces, James Merrill and Anthony Hecht, saw the old master further extending himself in his final decade, discovering a new music— a strain of poetry that blended heartbreak with aplomb.

Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011

Auden's productivity and out-flung array of styles complicate Mr. Wasley's chosen task of tracking influences—and render it all the more gratifying when he unfolds some unexpected linkage.

Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011

In other places, Mr. Wasley's prose is less satisfying.

Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011

For his part, Mr. Wasley can't seem to let go of the two phrases, "makes nothing happen" and "a way of happening."

Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011

For last year's championship, U.S. coach Charlie Wasley, a former college hockey star, assembled a team from college hockey rosters.

An Icy Face-Off for Those Who Think Hockey Isn't Rough Enough Jack Nicas 2012

This time, Mr. Wasley cast a broader net, looking for those who excel in various extreme and winter sports.

An Icy Face-Off for Those Who Think Hockey Isn't Rough Enough Jack Nicas 2012

The interlocking ways in which a vast country shaped an individual poet, even as he shaped its contentious, loosely confederated poets, is the subject of Aidan Wasley's "The Age of Auden."

Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011

Mr. Wasley takes a dim view of Auden's final years.

Keeper of the Affirming Flame Brad Leithauser 2011