The Auden Society met on Tuesday 7th December for the final gathering of 2021. Alongside some Christmas-themed refreshments, the Sixth Form had a lovely evening discussing several areas of literature. Leila opened with an exploration of haiku’s, their Japanese history and relevance today – our Sixth Form afterwards proved you are never to old to create your own Christmas haiku! Joe followed Leila by discussing the issue of the teaching of mythology in the modern-day classroom. Joe is a Percy Jackson aficionado and this, combined with a mature delivery of thoughts about Greek mythology, made for an engaging talk. Elyzia spoke confidently on Auden’s ‘For the Time Being: A Christmas Oratorio’ despite the complicated biblical, philosophical, and psychological themes it holds. She showed the connection to another OG, Benjamin Britten whilst also explaining clearly to her audience how this poem encapsulates Auden’s interest in time, faith, love, and hope. Marlene ended our Christmas event with an illuminating explanation of the differences between Christmas traditions in Germany and the UK, with a particular focus on the contrasting stories on Cinderella that have developed across the years. The Auden Society will meet again in January, leading to a celebration of Auden’s life on his birthday in February.