Eliot, T. S.

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Still Point of the Turning World
A pleasure to own!
Practical Cats, Etc.
a pleasure as always
I have heard the mermaids singing...

Complete Poems and Plays,: 1909-1950
T. S. Eliot
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 015121185X

Amazon.com

Eliot's poetry ranges from the massively magisterial ( The Waste Land), to the playfully pleasant ( Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats). This volume of Eliot's poetry and plays offers the complete text of these and most all of Eliot's poetry, including the full text of Four Quartets. Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Eliot exerted a profound influence on his contemporaries in the arts generally and this collection makes his genius clear.

Book Description

This omnibus collection includes all of the author’s early poetry as well as the Four Quartets, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, and the plays Murder in the Cathedral, The Family Reunion, and The Cocktail Party.

Customer Reviews:

Still Point of the Turning World.......2006-03-14

I'm not at all rating this book five stars; that's my rating for T.S. Eliot's plays. This book was the typical library edition and has everything wrong with it: the cover of an old, wise Eliot (why not a young maverick one?), "Complete" in the title when it's not at all complete, big, heavy, hardback and way too literary looking for the passing reader to crack the cover.

But look how much T.S. Eliot you already know. The Wasteland may be a maddingly obscure poem sequence built around a book by Jessie Weston, but Pete Townshend used the idea in a song: "Teenage Wasteland." You know from another song that T.S. Eliot, in "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" said that life was measured out in coffee spoons. We all know that Old Possum's Book of Practical...plays out dramatically in a musical titled for the last word of that book...Cats. You could have tackled (or rather relaxed with) his most famous poem sequence, Four Quartets and the accompanying readers' guide by Thomas Howard.

But for all those bits of poetic imagery, you still might not stumble on the plays. I've never seen one of Eliot's plays put on, but they make wonderful reading. As an astute reviewer suggested, don't get this volume, which leaves out two of the five plays (or six if you include "Choruses from the Rock," which is not among the best). That reviewer also provided the helpful advice to track down the Faber edition which really does have all the plays. Some of them, notably Murder in the Cathedral, are available in single editions. But don't miss The Confidential Clerk, The Cocktail Party and The Elder Statesman for a great reading experience.

The only other play I know that reads this well is J. M. Barrie's original play of Peter Pan. Murder in the Cathedral is notable because it falls in the Church of England (Anglican) tradition of putting on plays at the Canterbury Festival. Charles Williams also wrote plays related to this event (Thomas Cranmer of Canterbury), as did Dorothy L. Sayers (The Zeal of Thy House, The Devil to Pay). All of which is to say that there is a lot of great dramatic writing to be rediscovered as reading as well as performance (see also my review of Christopher Fry's plays A Phoenix Too Frequent and The Lady's Not for Burning). Many Sayers readers are also aware that she wrote the first radio play for the BBC on the life of Jesus (and updated it to common language), as well as essays on her experience dealing with the Gospel accounts in dramatic form. The best known of these is "The Dogma is the Drama," available in various collections.

A pleasure to own!.......2005-02-27

His language is effortless in its flow and it is conducive to deep meditation in its style. After reading 'Prufrock', and the 'Hollow Men' I got the sense that this is something truly withstanding and classic - one of our bards of the 20th century.
Only a handfull of modern poets stick in my mind - Elliot, Cummings, Rilke, and Yeats are among them!

Practical Cats, Etc........2005-01-02

This was the first time I've read Eliot since college, when I read The Waste Land. I was stunned this time around, and particularly found Practical Cats riveting. His ear for language is extraordinary. Why have so many post-modern poets abandoned rhyme, rhythm and sound in such a lyrical medium? Loved it.

a pleasure as always .......2004-12-20

this complete collection by Thomas Stearns Eliot just made me "pur" for joy, please excuse the pun. If you love Eliot's poetry and plays, this is the perfect book for you. And of course, it includes all the classic favorites such as "a love song for j. alfred prufrock" and "the wasteland".
Eliot's writing is delightfully anglo-american, with amazing references to both sides of the atlantic. (the tea-drinking is my personal favorite) and do i dare to eat a peach?

I have heard the mermaids singing..........2004-05-23

An excellent collection of the vast majority of his published works.

While Eliot lived into the sixties, there is an inevitable temptation to concentrate on his earlier classic works such as The Love Song Of J Alfred Prufrock, which yielded the above line, The Waste Land and The Hollow Men above all.

A lot of Eliot's perspectives involve psychological impotence, and a majestic failure to act, and be a part of events, of the World, the Life, if you like; such as in the lines "I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each. I do not think that they will sing for me."

Here, he writes about isolation and alienation, with accompanying non-participation. The impotent voyeur, as in Joyce's Ulysses, based on the classical myth. Joyce's Sirens are Lydia and Mina, the 'sexy barmaids' at the Ormond Hotel. Bloom can hear their siren song from the next bar, as they lure the male clientele to part with their cash, but he is separate from events; reflecting cyborg-like on their music which he terms 'musemathematics'.

While The Waste Land and The Hollow Men in particular were clearly written during a time of deep spiritual crisis, Eliot did transcend this period and they are not really representative of his later life philosophy.

One stanza from T S Eliot's The Hollow Men, became the source of Nevil Shute's book title On The Beach - this being his 1957 post-apocalyptic novel which later appeared as the 1963 Gregory Peck movie of the same name, about the last doomed survivors of a nuclear holocaust.

In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river

The J G Ballardesque inner landscape that Eliot creates, of decaying cities and civilizations and the encroaching spiritual desert, `sunlight on a broken column', the final phase of extreme Entropy, the suppression of the Eternal Feminine, is just all part of the ultimate fear of nothingness or perhaps meaninglessness that has gnawed away at the human psyche for eons.

Just as Ballard's ancient nuclear test site in The Terminal Beach, replete with its decrepit bunkers and blockhouses, is 'a fossil of Time Future', so too is Eliot's Waste Land a metaphor for the human inability to perceive Time and to merge with the flow of the Universe.

Book Description

A dramatization in verse of the murder of Thomas Becket at Canterbury. “The theatre as well as the church is enriched by this poetic play of grave beauty and momentous decision” (New York Times). “Within its limits the play is a masterpiece.... Mr. Eliot has written no better poem than this and none which seems simpler” (Mark Van Doren, The Nation).

Customer Reviews:

Haunting!.......2007-03-06

My high school put on the play, "Murder in the Cathedral" for their fall drama in 1969. In retrospect, my guess is that few of the players and still fewer of the audience had any real idea as to the momentous events that the play dramatized. Yet, the language has lingered with me from that day to this, now close on forty years later:

"...the stubborn King, and the French King, in ceaseless intrigue, combination...
....meetings unending, and endless, at some place or the other in France...
....you will be left to your own devices, which must be paid for at higher prices...
....It does go against the grain a bit to kill an Archbishop, especially when one has been brought up in a strong Church tradition..."

The play, in fact, dramatized the struggle between Saint Thomas A' Becket and Henry II over the rights of Church and State. Truly, it was a classic confrontation between what ultimately became, under the Tudors, the power of the state relative to the rights of Holy Church. Now, as a high school junior, I had wanted, of course to play Thomas. I wound up as the lowly Second Priest. But, knowing now what I did not know then, I understand that I could not have done the Archbisho's character justice, as I was then a Protestant. In fact, the reasoning of Thomas, particularly with regard to the Temptors, was classic Catholicism.

The play is wonderfully rich in language and meaning. It can be read in one long sitting. And reading it is well worth the time and effort. Pick up this little book, and be richly blessed by the experience.

"Blood for blood.".......2006-08-19

The murder and subsequent martyrdom of Thomas Becket is always a chilling tale and one that poet T.S. Eliot does a masterful job in relating. "Murder in the Cathedral" is a look at Becket's return from France, after his fallout with King Henry II, and his murder by knights of the King. The play may be a difficult read for those unfamiliar with Becket's life, and those unused to Eliot's poetically styled play. Yet it is an intriguing look at one of the church's martyrs, told by a man who came to faith later in his life.

The first act of the play centers around Thomas Becket's return from France. He had fled there for a period of years in an effort to avoid the King, and their 'difference of opinion', to put it simply. Becket was first appointed Chancellor by Henry II, and then made Archbishop. King Henry II hoped that by granting Becket both titles he would have more control over the church; but Becket saw things differently, and roused the king's anger when he excommunicated several bishops. Throughout the first act, Becket is set upon by four temptors who reveal his fate to him, serving as a catalyst for readers to learn some of Becket's background and to know that he wasn't purely without fault.

The second act moves at a much faster pace than the previous, with the king's knights denouncing Thomas and trying to persuade him to reverse his decision. When Becket refuses, the knights return and kill Thomas at the altar of the church, a death that he gladly accepts as a martyr for his Lord. The most intriguing part of the play is when, after the brutal murder is completed, the knights turn to the audience and explain their reasons for killing Becket and why it was the right thing to do in an effort to preserve England. "Murder in the Cathedral" is a play that will make readers want to examine the events surrounding Becket's death, and leave them wondering if all those explanations at the end might be right after all.

Thomas Beckett as martyr philosopher; Shakespearean genius.......2004-10-16

The audiobook version of "Murder in the Cathedral" (with Robert Donat playing Thomas Beckett) is a surprising delight, especially for those who love rich language and philosophical musings.

Centered around the age-old story of how Thomas Beckett, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered by knights for defying the king's authority, the play explores a variety of themes: church vs. state, the quest for power, the pursuit of pleasure, the heroism or vanity of martyrs, and the search for life's meaning in the face of death and the "void".

The performances of the actors in this audiobook are superb, especially that of Robert Donat. Hearing his deep resonating voice, you truly feel the charismatic power of the archbishop and former chancellor to the king.

The performance alternates between straight dialogue, poetry, and the Gregorian style chanting of monks. While the poetry and chanting is tedious in parts, it at least breaks up the dialogue into digestable chunks and moves the plot along.

Readers shouldn't be put off by the medieval theme of this piece. The substance of the play is as modern and relevant as any play you'll find. The plot contains a novel twist as well.

With its many poetic and philosophical flourishes, there's more than a trace of Shakespeare in this work. And here's a little known fact: another T.S. Eliot work, "The Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats", was the inspiration for Cats, the longest running Broadway musical.

So push the rewind for me. Time to visit that bloody cathedral again.

Written by a dilettante........2004-09-29

"Murder in the Cathedral" is more of a coffee house production than a dramatic classical play. Since I do not care for poetry, or Shakespeare, I knew I was jumping headfirst into a dead-end. Still, I did not expect to be bored out of my gored. T. S. Eliot was attempting to use the genre "poetic drama" to his benefit, but instead conjured up an illiterate form of speaking. I disliked the play 'A Man for All Seasons,' (involves the death of Thomas Moore) but at least that play can be coherently understood, and actually teaches something. I do not recommend.

Murder in the Cathedral.......2004-05-11

The play is about Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury and is not worth reading if you like a literal story, where what you read is what you get and reading between the lines is unnecessary. That is what I liked about this play. It allows you to interpret the dialogue so that you develop your own understanding behind the plot.
Thomas Becket lived in the 12th century and rose to power because of his friend King Henry. Becket at first had been a Chancellor in Henrys court and had then been given the title of Archbishop. Henry wanted him to have both the titles whereas Becket refused because he felt he could not perform both jobs to the same expectations. This was because Henry had radical views about the separation of the church and the state and Becket did not agree with these views because he did not believe he could serve two very opposite masters. The result was an argument between the two.
Literally, Henry and Becket are in a skirmish during the play, but the actual conflict is between Becket and his conscience. The play goes deep into Christianity and the Catholic faith, which I found to be enjoyable. Just as Christ had tempters, so does Becket. They offer him power and material wealth, when all they want in return is for Becket to alter and transform his principles.
I liked how you saw main characters in this play, such as the Chorus, progress from fearing the unknown to joyfully accepting God. While the play has Christian connotations within, it stresses primarily on universal human values such as humility and devotion.
The entire play is written in verse and Eliot managed to capture such complex themes and dialogue in such concise yet poetic words.

The Waste Land (Norton Critical Editions)

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Expand your understanding....
Edition Brings More to Wasteland
A Modernist Masterpiece
Truly one of the best.
Civilization did not end with Tom Eliot

The Waste Land (Norton Critical Editions)
T. S. Eliot
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393974995

Book Description

The text of Eliot's 1922 masterpiece is accompanied by thorough explanatory annotations as well as by Eliot's own knotty notes, some of which require annotation themselves. For ease of reading, this Norton Critical Edition presents The Waste Landas it first appeared in the American edition (Boni & Liveright), with Eliot's notes at the end. Contexts provides readers with invaluable materials on The Waste Land's sources, composition, and publication history. Criticism traces the poem's reception with twenty-five reviews and essays, from first reactions through the end of the twentieth century. Included are reviews published in the Times Literary Supplement, along with selections by Virginia Woolf, Gilbert Seldes, Edmund Wilson, Elinor Wylie, Conrad Aiken, Charles Powell, Gorham Munson, Malcolm Cowley, Ralph Ellison, John Crowe Ransom, I. A. Richards, F. R. Leavis, Cleanth Brooks, Delmore Schwartz, Denis Donoghue, Robert Langbaum, Marianne Thormählen, A. D. Moody, Ronald Bush, Maud Ellman, Christine Froula, and Tim Armstrong. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are included.

<B>About the Series</B>: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the <B>Norton Critical Editions</B>. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehenive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.

Customer Reviews:

Expand your understanding...........2007-06-18

I'm not really qualified to review TS Eliot. First of all, I couldn't be impartial---I made a special trip while in Somerset to visit the man's grave (actually a little plaque). Secondly, the corpus of his work represents one of the greatest pinnacles of the English language. I'll let Oxford dons review Waste Land.
This book of essays, however, was extremely helpful to me as I studied this poem, this monument to our decaying culture. I really think that it was instrumental in allowing me to reach a certain level of understanding, a level of comfort, with one of the most dense poems in English. However, it's not cheap, and no easy read in itself. You have to want it!
If you are serious about your Eliot, pull out the VISA and go to town. If you are just passing through, your local library has a copy you could check out before spending the money.

Edition Brings More to Wasteland.......2006-10-20

Norton Critcal did it right with this edition. With enough essays and criticism to help anyone get a deeper understanding of Elliot's poem, this edition is a must have. Rainey's essay on the publishing of the poem is particulary interesting.

A Modernist Masterpiece.......2006-10-09

I read The Waste Land and find that most poetry that comes after it is self-indulgent, limpid nonsense. The Beats? Who are they? Rubbish, all of it. Philip Larkin? Wimpish nonsense. But TSE and Ezra Pound, there you have the meaning and message of modern poetry. Since them and then, poetry has gone downhill into the personal, the confessional, the onanistic. Poetry MUST be difficult, not accessible, not transparent and easily understood after one reading.

Truly one of the best........2005-08-30

One reviewer claims that this is marred by some of Eliot's unfurtunate preducices. But how come you don't say something like that about O' Henry. We can't just stop reading authers because you we don't like their views. Someone calls hemingway looking forward? If that's looking forward I'de rather look backward. Hemingway has no concept of lyricism what so ever. Most of the people that reviewer named justly loved Eliot. Eliot is not looking nesscarily towards the past, but towards what we have made out of the present. In name of progress, we have destroyed nature and good part of our souls. To call Eliot Conservative at the time he wrote the poem would be redicoulous, the first draft according to one of Eliot's biographers, was absolutly a expression of Relavtism. One critic accused him being a Nihilist.

On the Poem itself Eliot is truly a master at evocating mode and tone, not to mention his brilliant use of Imperfect rymthe. So it doesn't have the crepty sentimentalism and redicoulous forays of expression of eariler and later poets. So he looks at his poetry with a sense of hard classicism, we could use more of that. Yet what he doesn't right he evoces through mode and tone, giving us truly one of the best poems of this, or any other century.

Civilization did not end with Tom Eliot .......2004-11-04

At one time Eliot stood astride our poetic culture like a colossus . He was the giant and god of twentieth English Literature, the master critic who defined the Tradition and Individual Talent. The 'Wasteland ' was taken to be something like a definitive statement about the whole cultural tradition. The dried- up and dead world , the post First- world War world was the end of what the Tradition gave. And the Tradition brought back in allusions and references , treated ironically was defined and put in its place by the young expatriate bank- clerk whose Pound patron called him the better poet.
Eliot was the writer of many great beautiful poetic lines . And the ' fragments he shored against his ruins were made here into a modern masterpiece. Unfortunately that masterpiece is morally marred by his Anti- Semitism, and of course by the somewhat shallow reading of History which informs the work as a whole . Yet the work did for many define the time , even when Eliot transcended himself and made the high Anglican culture his home, writing himself back in with "Four Quartets"
The allusion, the philosophical and abstract language combined with the precise musical poetry certainly stand in his favor and say that he no doubt is a poet to be reckoned with.
Even those of us old enough to know in our bones long lines of his cannot however forget his Beideker and Blustein his own hatred and misperception, preliminary to the Nazi world to come.
There are some sins even poetic greatness does not forgive.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Illustrated Edition

Average customer rating:

Get the Movie first
Excellent poetry
Great book, I'll read it over and over and over and etc. etc.
Great book, I'll read it over and over and over and etc. etc.
The musical is amazing , but the book is much better

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, Illustrated Edition
T. S. Eliot
Manufacturer: Harcourt
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0151686564

Book Description

Eliot’s famous collection of nonsense verse about cats-the inspiration for the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. This edition features pen-and-ink drolleries by Edward Gorey throughout.

Customer Reviews:

Get the Movie first.......2006-11-21

The poems were a bit hard for me to read. However after watching the movie (play) and listening to the sound track it was much easier to read.

Excellent poetry.......2006-06-30

Such beautiful snapshots of life in England. I particularly enjoy Skimbleshanks and Gus, the Theatre Cat.

Great book, I'll read it over and over and over and etc. etc........2006-03-17

Book, movie, soundtrack... all good but the book is the best. The book is filled with many cat poems (duh!). My personal favorite is Cat Morgan Introduces Himself, but there are many other good poems too.

Great book, I'll read it over and over and over and etc. etc........2006-03-17

The musical is amazing , but the book is much better.......2006-03-14

I love T.S. Eliot's work. Eventhough this is written for children, there are still elements in the story that pertains to adults. The lyrical form just flows like water and even if you are not a cat lover, this book will make you think differently.

101 Great American Poems (Dover Thrift Editions)

Average customer rating:

The American school anthology
A Manifested Dream
Inspiring
Excllent Read
Quite a Bang for Your Buck!..........

101 Great American Poems (Dover Thrift Editions)
Edgar Allan Poe , Walt Whitman , Robert Frost , Langston Hughes , Emily Dickinson , T S. Eliot , and Marianne Moore
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486401588

Book Description

Rich treasury of verse from 19th and 20th centuries, selected for popularity and literary quality, includes Poe’s "The Raven," Whitman’s "I Hear America Singing," as well as poems by Robert Frost, Langston Hughes, Emily Dickinson, T S. Eliot, Marianne Moore, many other notables.

Customer Reviews:

The American school anthology .......2005-05-02

This is a wonderful collection of American poetry classics. It contains most of the poems that have been taught through the years in American schools as the ' classics ' of American Literature. It does not really touch the American poetry of the past fifty years.
Most of its poems are the shorter poems of great poetic masters , for instance for Wallace Stevens, " Thirteen ways of looking at a blackbird' and the 'Emperor of Ice- Cream' but not the 'Idea of Order at Key West' for Eliot, " Prufrock" but not the "Wasteland " or the "Quartets".
A wonderful collection most highly recommended.

A Manifested Dream.......2005-03-22

This book is the manifestation of the dream of former U.S. Poet Laureate Joseph Brodsky when he said, "Poetry must be available to the public in far greater volume than it is." Brodsky believed that poetry books should be distributed free of charge in many places, such as supermarkets and factories. He also had the idea that an anthology of poetry should be, "found in every hotel room in the land." Brodsky went on to create the American Poetry & Literacy Project in 1993, and is the compiler of this book.

This little anthology covers more than 350 years of American poetry. It includes poets who were famous in their own time such as Edgar Allen Poe, and poets whose talents weren't realized until after their death, such as Emily Dickinson. It displays American patriotism in poems such as Walt Whitman's, "I Hear America Singing", and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride." Poems such as, "Dream Deferred (Harlem)" by Langston Hughes, and "Incident" by Countee Cullen, explore themes of racial prejudice and African American culture. War, loneliness, nature, children, all the many issues and emotions we as human beings find ourselves dealing with today, are all included in this small, yet well-comprised anthology.

Many of my personal favorites include poems about poetry itself. These poets and writers give serious, and not so serious, contemplation to the art of writing. On page 65, the teacher and library assistant Marianne Moore begins her poem, "Poetry" with these lines:

I, too, dislike it: there are things that are important beyond all
this fiddle.

Moore, known for her complex poems was known as the "poet's poet," and was the editor of the literary magazine The Dial, according the book's biography about her.

Pulitzer prize winner Archibald Macleish's poem, "Ars Poetica" gives his view of what a poem should be on page 72:

A poem should be wordless
As the flight of birds

A poem should be motionless in time
As the moon climbs

The books biography on Macleish says that he was an editor for Fortune magazine, Librarian of Congress, and Assistant Secretary of State.

According to Andrew Carroll, the Executive Director of The American Poetry and Literacy Project, Joseph Brodsky never saw the final version of this book, "101 Great American Poems" before his death. He leaves us however, with Brodsky's inspiring words in his Introduction to the book:

"Books find their readers, and if not, well let them lie around, absorb dust, rot and disintegrate. There is always going to be a child who will fish a book out of the garbage heap. I was such a child, for what it's worth..."

For us, Brodsky's own poetry and the legacy he left behind in The American Poetry and Literacy Project, continues to be worth a fortune.

~Brian Douthit
author of "Perfectly Said: when words become art"

Inspiring.......2005-02-04

I really enjoyed this alot. I felt I was transported into a world of great poems. There really wasn't a bad piece here. Indulge and buy this book.

Excllent Read.......2003-09-15

This book is quite wonderful. It includes some of my all time favorite American Poets. I recommend it to anyone who likes poetry.

Also Recommended: Quotes, Poems, and Words That Flow by Kevin Grommersch

Quite a Bang for Your Buck!.................2001-11-19

............this small book of poetry contains the work of nearly forty of the best known American poets. From Emily Dickinson to Walt Whitman to Edgar Allan Poe to Robert Frost, there are poems in this collection that are sure to appeal to everyone! Also represented in this collection are ten women poets and eight African Americans including Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes and Phyllis Wheatley. There's even a poem by Abraham Lincoln that reveals his thoughts about his childhood experiences.

This collection is a simple, inexpensive way to introduce oneself to the wonderful world of American poetry. Each poet is introduced with a short biography followed by his or her most memorable work. Great buy!

Collected Poems, 1909-1962 (The Centenary Edition)
Average customer rating:

one of the best ever

Greatness compromised

Truly, one of the giants

Good stuff

The Eagle Soared to the Summit of Heaven

Collected Poems, 1909-1962 (The Centenary Edition)
T. S. Eliot
Manufacturer: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0151189781

Book Description

Published two years before his death, this collection includes all of Eliot’s poetry that he wished to preserve.

Customer Reviews:

one of the best ever.......2007-04-16

with eliot, a maximum of content is achieved through a FORM worked with a
care and conciousness not seen perhaps since the greeks. he understood,
as he once wrote, that the novel form ended with flaubert. in the centuries after picasso and stravinsky there is no place for anything in
literature which makes people remain sitting, whithout standing and perhaps dancing. the same thing could be said about pound, very different though very twin.

Greatness compromised .......2005-12-29

The Eliot of despair, the Eliot of 'Prufrock' and 'Wasteland' is contended with and overcome by the Eliot of the 'Quartets'. The message of modern mankind's meaninglessness, the broken fragments ( of Tradition) shored against his ruin is replaced by the vision of sacred turning, a Christian vision of redemption. Eliot is a writer whose work and life break down into these two distinct periods each of which has its champions in defining what is best in him.
As one raised on 'April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land' and 'Let us go then you and I when the evening is spread out against the sky, like a patient etherized upon a table' the most memorable lines are certainly of the first phase where it ends not with a bang but with a whimper.
Yet my admiration for the hypnotic power of Eliot's memorable lines is strongly qualified by my knowledge of his 'Burbank with a Baedaker, and Bluestein with a Cigar' with his all too fashionable literary anti- Semitism. Of course Eliot was not preaching death camps and extermination but he did connect his work to the tradition of Christian Anti- Semitism.
Thus I have always had difficulty being comfortable with my 'enjoying of Eliot's poetry. And I have never been able to sympathetically read 'The Quartets.' They have always seemed to me to be too impersonal characterless and abstract.
Eliot who for most of the century strode the English Departments as if he were a colossus did noble work in reviving interest in 'The Metaphysicals' but somehow failed in my mind to write a poetry humanly rich in the deepest sense.

Truly, one of the giants.......2004-08-29

When you think of the best poets ever, T.S. Eliot is one of those that comes to mind. His work is well crafted, intelligent, beautifully written, and has a flow to it that few poets can match. And this is a fine collection for the Eliot lover or for the reader unfamiliar with Eliot. It's divided into several sections. The first section is his Prufrock section, poems from 1917, which contains probably his finest poems: "Prufrock", "Preludes" "Rhapsody on a Windy Night", "Hysteria", among others. Then there is the Poems 1920 section which also contains many fine poems ("Sweeney Erect" and "The Hippopotamus" being my favorites). Then follows his masterpiece The Wasteland. Then The Hollow Men which is followed by the wonderful Ash Wednesday. Then the Ariel Poems (which contains "Journey of the Magi"). Then there are two unfinished poems, "Sweeney Agonistes" and "Coriolan" which I thought were weak. Maybe they would have been great had he ever finished them. Then there is a section called minor poems followed by the mediocre "Choruses from 'The Rock.' And then there is what I consider to be his true masterpiece, "Four Quartets." And the book finishes with some occasional verses, one of which is a sweet and touching poem to his wife. This is a great collection of poems.

Good stuff.......2004-07-23

Yep, this is a great collection of Eliot's works. I initially found out about Eliot throught the Movie 'Apocalypse Now' in which Brando is heard reciting the poem 'The Hollow Men'. The poem sounded so good I hunted it down and came across this little book.

My favourite poems would have to be 'The Hollow Men', 'Love song of Prufrock', 'Ash Wednesday' and 'Rannoch, by Glencoe (perfectly captured, drive through Rannoch and you'll see ;-)

Yep, definetly worth a read.

The Eagle Soared to the Summit of Heaven.......2004-07-05

Love him or hate him, you cannot deny his power. All arguments for and against Mr. Eliot can be countered easily and each have in them flaws that are substantial. T. S. Eliot cannot be read like most poets. Like the eastern scriptures he so loved, Eliot will take a lifetime for the reader to digest. Read and re-read. Question and re-read again. I became familiar with his works years ago. I have yet to tire of them. Eliot will grow with you, for his poems are the story of a man always growing and always searching. Discount the fighting that academics have over him. Read him for yourself. Immerse yourself in the spiral of darkness and light that is his poetry and judge for yourself. In the end, no matter what you think, you will not be able to deny his effect.

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The Tradition read again with the years
Ascerbic, crisp and correct-- brilliant essays.
What criticism should be.
Worthy collection
prose from a great literary figure

Selected Prose of T.S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156806541

Book Description

Thirty-one essays-categorized as “essays in generalization,” “appreciations of individual authors,” and “social and religious criticism”- written over a half century. This volume reveals Eliot’s original ideas, cogent conclusions, and skill and grace in language. Edited and with an Introduction by Frank Kermode; Index. Published jointly with Farrar, Straus & Giroux.

Customer Reviews:

The Tradition read again with the years .......2004-12-08

When I was in graduate school Eliot was considered the great literary critic of the twentieth century, the person who set the tone . His understanding of the Literary Tradition and how each new author altered the way we read the whole was part of the ' religion' of literary studies. So too his essays on Dante and on the Metaphysicals ( his placing Donne at the center of the Tradition) and his famous reading of Hamlet in which he argued that there was emotion in excess of the objective situation, i.e. that there was no appropriate 'objective correlative'. As a graduate student I somehow went along with the crowd and did not have much to say about Bleider with a Burbank,and Bluestein with a Cigar' i.e. the culturally anti- Semitic Eliot. That Anti- Semitism along with a certain racism and anti- Feminism are too we have learned parts of the Literary Tradition .So some of the most beautiful and great works of literary creation are marred by moral failings. How ironic that Eliot who was a spiritual teacher in time should have been so faulty in this way .

Ascerbic, crisp and correct-- brilliant essays. .......2004-10-03

An excellent selection of essays by Eliot. He is at his best in many of these-- ascerbic, crisp and correct. I am constantly amazed by the number of people who have opinions about the ideas and theories of Eliot, but who have never read his essays themselves. I suggest that before taking umbrage at what he is supposed to have said, a student of the modernists should at least read a bit of what he did say.

This selection is broken into two categories: Literary Criticism and Social and Religious Criticism. Essays such as "Tradition and the Individual Talent" and "What is a Classic?" (compare and contrast with G. Stein in "What are Masterpieces?") are particularly worth the time to read.

I wish that Kermode had included more of the social and religious essays and that he had not excerpted as heavily as he did throughout the book. I would personally rather read a longer book consisting of complete essays than having such a high percentage of the selection consisting of excerpts. Of the meagre three essays in the social and religious section, two were excerpted rather than being published in their entirety. Too bad.

What criticism should be........2002-12-28

Eliot's reputation has taken a beating in the last 20 years. He has been charged with anti-semitism, racism, elitism, and even misogyny. All of these charges are basically true. Nevertheless, as a critic his judgements are sound and dead-on. Read either "Traditon and the individual Talent" or "Dante" from this book and tell me if you think I am wrong. The book is worth the price for these two essays alone.

Worthy collection.......1999-07-13

I found this book to be a useful compendium of essays that are usually scattered or incompletely represented in anthologies. It's an excellent supplement for a course on Eliot's work or to learn more about his critical perspectives and how they shifted over time. Very worthwhile.

prose from a great literary figure.......1998-08-13

A good selection of prose from T. S. Eliot. After years of reading, I still find his prose more effective and more useful than his poetry. (I know -- sheer heresy.) Eliot places great emphasis on The Tradition and on an impersonal approach to art, an emphasis which aspiring writers of today would be wise to heed. Like Matthew Arnold, Eliot's criticism is dogmatic, and right. The reader's only wish is that this collection included more.

Voice of the Poet: T.S. Eliot (Voice of the Poet)

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Just a wonderful experience.

Voice of the Poet: T.S. Eliot (Voice of the Poet)

Manufacturer: RH Audio Voices
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: 0739315358
Release Date: 2005-03-29

Book Description

Featuring rare archival recordings of the featured poet reading his own work! Each program in Random House Audio Voices' exclusive THE VOICE OF THE POET series is accompanied by a book containing the text of the poems and a commentary by J.D. McClatchy.

Customer Reviews:

Just a wonderful experience........2007-05-11

It is a great experience to hear the voice of this master poet.

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Religion, Politics, & Philosophy
Worth your time...for several reads
What a fascinating book!
T.S. Eliot: an astounding writer
T.S. Eliot: an astounding writer

Christianity and Culture
T. S. Eliot
Manufacturer: Harvest Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0156177358

Book Description

Two long essays: “The Idea of a Christian Society” on the direction of religious thought toward criticism of political and economic systems; and “Notes towards the Definition of Culture” on culture, its meaning, and the dangers threatening the legacy of the Western world.

Customer Reviews:

Religion, Politics, & Philosophy.......2006-09-06

T.S. Eliot is not saying that the creation of a Christian state would be a utopia in which everything would be perfect. That would be foolish of him knowing that utopias seem to feel it is their duty to fall apart. This is an important idea to lay down. If Eliot's first essay feels utopian, it is because he is making a case for which type of society would function best, not perfectly. He acknowledges that a Christian society requires many tensions in order to function properly. What he has proposed is a society in which people can argue over dissenting viewpoints, but all discussions should be carried out with a common set of Christian values as their foundation. That is what would work best. He even relents by saying that another set of values could work, just not as well.

Unfortunately, his argument comes from a Christian perspective and bias, which clearly shines through. He bases much of his argument on the idea that one truth regarding God exists and that a society that departs from and forgets that is doomed to fail. This ideology enters into his concept of a Christian education and a national faith, which can only work if the society learns or assumes that the truth they are going to found their society on lies within the Christian faith. Otherwise, the society will not be a positive culture because it will be founded on a believed or actual lie, unless it can somehow happen that founding something on a lie can end with a positive culture, which might be a totally separate, although interesting, topic altogether.

In a distanced conjunction with his first essay, his second one focuses completely on culture. To him, culture is organic, analyzable, and balanced with regard unity and diversity in many areas. He mentions urbanity, civility, learning, philosophy, and the arts but would no doubt include many others, which should all be considered at the same time to get a whole grasp of culture. He has a gripe with the separation of the various areas of culture. The arts should continue to carry out cultural discourse and critique with religion, politics, etc. and vice versa. Culture becomes stagnant when the margins stop talking. If culture "includes all the characteristic activities and interests of a people," then the various areas should be in dialogue with each other so that the various mediums can stay representative of the culture in which they live.

Eliot's poetry and life must have followed this idea fairly closely. His poetry both argues and dances with concepts in religion, politics, philosophy, etc. It is also his communication with thinkers from other European countries. In "The Waste Land," his invocation of authors like Conrad and Dante, regions like Greece and Egypt, and other field of artistic endeavor like ragtime and common music halls puts skin on his belief that every aspect of culture, both national and continental, should be in discussion if new thought is to continue.

Reviewed by Jonathan Stephens

Worth your time...for several reads.......2005-07-20

What strikes me about this book is that Eliot, for the most part, posits blatant assertions without much logical, analytic proof. And yet, he does not fail to convince, perhaps largely because his vision is so clear and relevant. He draws from common experience to validate what he says, and after reading his argument, one is impressed by the lucidity and transformational power of his argument. He does not come across as a man ranting on the apparent decadence and failure of modern society; rather, he leaves the impression of a man truly concerned with the condition of society and with a genuine desire for its improvement. When you look at the copyright date, it becomes even more impressive.

What a fascinating book!.......2003-03-09

I bought this book unsure of how 'enlightened' it would be. To my surprise and delight I have found the book alarmingly courageous and specific in its ideas of the Christian person within a secular society. His writing is profoundly moving and expressive, but then again, he is one of the greatest modern poets. I literally had to refrain myself from highlighting every other line of this book, it is that original. I felt as though I were reading a classic novel instead of a book on cultural ideas. A life-changing book to be sure!

T.S. Eliot: an astounding writer.......2000-07-31

T.S. Eliot is known as one of the world's foremost poets and playwrights, but this book shows him as a brilliant essayist, philosopher, and theologian as well. This book consists of two essays: "The Idea of a Christian Society" and "Notes Toward the Definition of Culture." In these two essays, Eliot displays his mental prowess by cutting to the heart of the issues of culture in general in the second essay and specifically Christian culture in the first. His analysis of these subjects is very orderly, well-thought, and deeper than most any written today, even by sociologists and the like who make a career of studying these things. Eliot breaks culture down into three subclasses: individual, group/class, and whole society. He begins with the individual level of society, analyzing personality characteristics and the like, and moves his way up into group/class and then to the whole society, giving an extremely thoughtful and insightful argument into how these elements relate. Although this book was written over 50 years ago and isn't the most conventional look at these subjects, many of the things Eliot asserts are becoming obvious in today's society, proving him as not only a great writer but also as an accomplished thinker. He goes into great detail on class, geographic regions, sects, politics, religion, and education in relation to culture and society. While the writing is a bit more verbose and difficult than the average modern reader is used to, it is extremely logical; Eliot carefully builds each argument one step at a time. This order makes it possible to gain a great deal of understanding if the reader is willing to wade through the text and ponder what is written. I guarantee that even though many readers won't necessarily understand initially or perhaps agree with everything Eliot asserts in this book, anyone who reads it will end up with a far greater understanding of the workings of society. I recommend this book to anyone who is willing to be stretched in an intellectual way and anyone who seeks to gain a great insight into culture at its various levels and as a whole.

T.S. Eliot: an astounding writer.......2000-06-28

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