Editing Louis MacNeice (section)

===Oxford, 1926–1930===
It was during his first year as a student at Oxford that MacNeice first met [[W. H. Auden]], who had gained a reputation as the university's foremost poet during the preceding year. [[Stephen Spender]] and [[Cecil Day-Lewis]] were already part of Auden's circle, but MacNeice's closest Oxford friends were John Hilton, Christopher Holme and [[Graham Shepard]], who had been with him at Marlborough. MacNeice threw himself into the aesthetic culture, publishing poetry in literary magazines ''The Cherwell'' and ''Sir Galahad'', organising candle-lit readings of [[Percy Bysshe Shelley|Shelley]] and [[Christopher Marlowe|Marlowe]], and visiting Paris with Hilton. Auden would become a lifelong friend who inspired MacNeice to take up poetry seriously.<ref Name="BBC1"/>

In 1928 he was introduced to the Classics don [[John Beazley]] and his stepdaughter [[Mary Ezra]]. A year later he thought to soften the news that he had been arrested for drunkenness by telegraphing his father to say he was engaged to be married to Mary. John MacNeice (by now [[Archdeacon]] of [[Diocese of Connor (Church of Ireland)|Connor]], and a Bishop a few years later) was horrified to discover his son was engaged to a [[Jew]], while Ezra's family demanded assurances that Louis's brother's [[Down's syndrome]] was not hereditary. Amidst this turmoil MacNeice published four poems in ''Oxford Poetry, 1929'' and his first undergraduate collection ''Blind Fireworks'' (1929). Published by [[Victor Gollancz Ltd|Gollancz]],<ref Name="PF"/> the volume was dedicated to "Giovanna" (Mary's full name was Giovanna Marie Thérèse Babette). In 1930 the couple were married at Oxford [[Register Office]], neither set of parents attending the ceremony. He was awarded a first-class degree in ''[[literae humaniores]]'',<ref>{{Cite news |last=Russell |first=Mary |date=1 September 2007 |title=In memory of MacNeice |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/in-memory-of-macneice-1.959544 |access-date=2023-08-28 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> and had already gained an appointment as Assistant Lecturer in Classics at the [[University of Birmingham]].<ref Name="PF"/><ref name=MCreg />