W.H. Auden, “New Year Letter” | Children of a Modest Star

How hard is it to set aside
Terror, concupiscence and pride, Learn who and where and how we are, The children of a modest star,
Frail, backward, clinging to the granite Skirts of a sensible old planet,
Our placid and suburban nurse
In SITTER’s swelling universe,
How hard to stretch imagination To live according to our station.
- W.H. Auden, “New Year Letter”
The authors discuss the inspiration behind the title of their book and why they chose to open it with this passage.
In the groundbreaking Children of a Modest Star, Berggruen Institute's Jonathan S. Blake and Nils Gilman not only challenge dominant ways of thinking about humanity's relationship to the planet and the political forms that presently govern it, but also present a new, innovative framework that corresponds to our inherently planetary condition.
Learn More and Pre-Order Your Copy here: berggruen.org/news/children-o...