T. S. Eliot Books

Gordon began her research in 1970. Her first book, Eliot's Early Years, was published in 1977 and its sequel, Eliot's New Life, in 1988. This present book is the result of further research and new information (much of which came to the author in response to her earlier publications), including new access to Eliot manuscripts; confidential letters regarding Eliot written by Emily Hale to close friends; Mary Trevelyan's unpublished memoir of her close friendship with Eliot; and a bundle of Eliot's letters which were rescued from an English pig farmer who was about to destroy them.

I read Eliot's "The Hollow Men" at age 15, and was transfixed by the intellectual and emotional force behind the words. I still am, but I have not gotten around to reading any biograpy of his before now. I have read a couple of his other poems. This author's approach to the subject, through an autobiographical reading of many of his later works, makes me want to finally get around to reading his major works. It also makes me want to read other biogrraphies of him, in order to get fresh angles on him and his writing.

This book contains three of Elliot's Poems. Growltiger's Last Stand tells the story of the fate of an ornery cat at the hands, er, paws, of Persian and Siamese cats he disdained. It is an amusing tale, although when read today it doesn't always come across as exactly politically correct! The other two poems talk of the feud between the Pekes and the Pollicles, and describe Jellicle cats. All three poems are entertaining and are illustrated with silly pictures that well-suit the tone of the poems. I believe that the book is better suited to slightly older children than the 4 -8 year-old reading level mentioned above.

I borrowed this book from the Library last year. The story is magnificent. The best part of the book though are the illustrastions. If you enjoy the play Cats and ohter T.S. Eliot poems, i highly suggest this book.

Having recently read Alfred Appel's very erudite and comprehensive annotations to "Lolita," I have to admit that Prof. Rainey's effort here is something of a mixed bag. On the plus side, he avoids the temptation to "explain" the poem to us, since this poem of voices cries out for individual interpretation. He provides extensive excerpts and quotes from the works to which Eliot alludes. Unlike Appel, however, there is scarcely any analysis of how the allusions fit into the plan and structure of the poem. Some of the claimed allusions make one scratch one's head in bewilderment and imagine Eliot grinning from the great beyond at the confusion he has caused. On the other hand, Prof. Rainey misses obvious allusions, such as the recurring "Unreal City," which echoes the short fiction of Gerard de Nerval, whose "El Desdichado" is quoted by Eliot at line 429. (Prof. Rainey appears thrown off by Eliot's own citation to Beaudelaire; Eliot deftly pulled off a simulatneous allusion to both French authors, and there is really not any discussion here of how Eliot was influenced by the French symbolists.) Also, Prof. Rainey fails to annotate other lines that appear to be allusive, or if not are deserving of commentary just for one's overall study of the poem. His introduction captures only the tiniest bit of Eliot's craft and continuing relevance, and instead spends page after page on painstaking and eventally quite uninteresting exposition on the publication history of the poem. Coming to this poem again 28 years after reading it in college, I found it still retains both its intellectual and emotional power, which is likely what makes it such an enduring masterpiece. Its exploration of melancholy is unmatched.

The conception of the 'classic' which stands at the center of this work is Vergilian.Kermode writes, "Vergil as the classic of empire and the type of all classics" He then goes on to read this Vergilian idea as it goes through transformations in Western culture. Centering on the question of 'permanence and change' he comes to a definitiion of the modern classic which introduces concepts of plurality , secularization, and change.
I found this work extremely difficult to read. I also found it did not really deal in a way I would have liked to have seen with literary matters and texts, though its concluding example is an analysis of 'Wuthering Heights'.
I much prefer Arnold's way of thinking about ' the best that has been thought and said'. And his relating it to ' classic works' which surely precede those of Vergil, what Arnold calls the Hellenic and Hebraic.
As for the question of what makes a work one which all subsequent generations wish to read and reread, I believe this touches upon a question Kermode does not raise, i.e. What constitutes true literary greatness?'

Four Quartets is unarguably Eliot's masterpiece, one of the last things he wrote. It is a notoriously difficult work to read, but Helen Gardner is the authority on the matter.

Although I don't find her writing style to be as accessible as Reibetanz's book on the Four Quartets, she will help anyone to a deeper understanding of these beautiful, philosophical poems. Unfortunately such books tend to be out of print, but if you can find a copy somewhere and you want to come to a better understanding of Eliot's poems, grab it! Otherwise check your library.

This was a really good book and if you plan on using monologes for trying out for dramatic roles then i highly suggest this book.

I teach "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" in my high school classes, but "The Waste Land" has always been a complete mystery to me. This book, a hybrid of biography and literary criticism, enabled me to understand a large chunk of the poem. It turns out, according to Gordon, that "The Waste Land" is a sort of spiritual clearinghouse for Eliot's religious and personal reflection. I now think it's impossible to adequately interact with the poem without a basic understanding of Eliot's religious philosophy and his personal life. Gordon uses many of Eliot's unpublished poems to illuminate these facets of his life and thought. As such I found it very useful, although it was not an easy read. (The language is rather dry and academic.) Still, I recommend it highly for anyone interested in tackling "The Waste Land."

Raymond Preston's FOUR QUARTETS REHEARSED was one of the first in-depth commentaries on T.S. Eliot's masterpiece "Four Quartets".

Preston's examination of "Four Quartets" consists of four chapters, each about one of the Quartets. He analyses each portion and connects it to the other Quartets and to outside sources. Preston attempts to seek a middle ground on which scholars can agree. He posits no outlandish theories nor attacks the interpretation of his colleagues. He writes, "What is needed to correct the deficiencies of one's personal reading is not an exchange of critical gun-fire, but quiet co-operative discussion of detail."

What I found most refreshing about Preston's work is that it connects "Four Quartets" to other things Eliot was writing around the same time, such as his play "The Family Reunion" and various essays. He also dedicates much more attention to the inspiration of St John of the Cross than do most commentators on Eliot's work.

FOUR QUARTETS REHEARSED is a great place to start for those wanting to approach a better understanding of the depths of Eliot's greatest work.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats (the source of the long running Broadway musical CATS). Murder in the Cathedral. The Waste Land. The Cocktail Party. Prufrock. The Hollow Men. All books I'd heard of or had to read in school --some I actually enjoyed--all written by T.S. Eliot, winner of the 1948 Nobel Prize for literature. An American with an advanced case of anglophilia who went to Britain as a student and basically never went back. Marrying an unsuitable woman -his former secretary- may have had something to do with it (like Princess Di she was high strung and couldn't cope with the duties that came along with her husband's professional and social position). It's interesting to see that poetry is a business like any other in that inspiration is maybe 1% and hard work makes up the other 99% (would you believe a famous literary battle about how to position on a page the words in a poem?). Money problems, literary feuds, the miserable business of publishing a magazine where you think your partners are about to screw you financially, it's all there. A nice friendship with a female cousin and a Frenchman who wrote beautiful letters. Begging letters to mom and then to an older brother for money. Somehow the life of one of the early 20th century's greatest poets and man of letters is very prosaic.(Thank goodness we are spared Eliot's letters to his wine supplier which made up a considerable proportion of the correspondence of Lewis Carroll (author on Alice in Wonderland!). Still, worth reading for T. S. Eliot's nice way with words even in the most ordinary correspondence.

No biography of Eliot could better capture the thoughts and personality of the young poet than these letters. Eliot had a lively correspondence with so many, including family, friends, editors, and partners in verse. Even the short letters -- like the ones in which Eliot simply announces to his correspondent that he's exhausted and doesn't want to write anything -- give a glimpse of how Old Possum acted.

Eliot's poetry is so cerebral and allusive that when reading it, one can feel at his mercy. In his letters he is far less in control, and the contrast is fascinating.