In 1921, during his time at Harvard, Auslander took a leave of absence to attend the Sorbonne in Paris with a Parker Fellowship.He returned to Harvard the next year, and at the end of his graduate studies, Auslander published his first book of poems, Sunrise Trumpets, in 1924. He worked as a lecturer in Poetry at Columbia University from 1929 to 1937, at which time he was honored with being asked to stand as the first Consultant in Poetry for the Library on Congress. The position had no definite term at the time, but Auslander elected to serve for four years.
In addition to his teaching work, Auslander continued to write and publish. He wrote books of poetry, novels, and translated the poetry of French writer Jean de la Fontaine and Italian writer Francesco Petrarch.He co-authored a history of poetry with Ernest Hill titled The Winged. In 1943 Auslander collaborated with his wife, Pulitzer Prize winning poet Audrey Wurdemann, to write what would be his signature work in The Unconquerables: Salutes to the Undying Spirit of the Nazi-Occupied Countries. Auslander was awarded the Robert Frost Prize for poetry shortly before his death in 1925.
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