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5 Stars • "The Waste Land" is a 434-line modernist poem by T. S. Eliot, published in 1922. It's a complex, fragmented, and allusive work that reflects the disillusionment and despair of the post-World War I generation. The poem is divided into five sections: "The Burial of the Dead," "A Game of Chess," "The Fire Sermon," "Death by Water," and "What the Thunder Said." ⬇️

Today was a pukka writerly day. I went to the Faber Poetry event at Cheltenham Literature Festival, then spent an hour people-watching and writing absolute shite in Waterstones cafe and rounded the afternoon off nicely with a perusal of the stacks in the library. 😁

Fascinating to see how different the original draft was from the published version with which we are all so familiar. Ezra Pound‘s amendments made a huge difference. #book #books #bookstagram #dauntbooks #tseliot #thewasteland #ezrapound #faberbooks

Eliot on the future of our civilisation - "Internecine fighting, people killing one another in the streets." Informative write up on The Waste Land by Eliot - https://bit.ly/2DWgtm9

#poetry #poetrymatters
This is so true 💕

"Genuine poetry can communicate before it is understood." - T.S Eliot

Less understanding on my part, though some communication on Mr. Eliot's, so by his own
definition, The Waste Land must be genuine poetry. If that sounds less than enthusiastic, it's probably a reflection of my disappointment at not being totally blown away by what is generally reckoned to be one of the greatest poems of the twentieth century. ????

“Unreal City,
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn,
A crowd flowed over London Bridge, so many,
I had not thought death had undone so many.
Sighs, short and infrequent, were exhaled,
And each man fixed his eyes before his feet.
Flowed up the hill and down King William Street,
...“

Who‘d have thought you‘d find one of the One Direction blokes recite TS Eliot on US late night tv!? #jamescorden

https://youtu.be/VlcxeNgA5JE

Ok, so much of these poems went over my head - I hardly got any of the allusions - but somehow I got swept up in the mood of the words. One to return to again later, I think.

28 books of poetry.
#28 #novemberbythenumbers @JoeStalksBeck @Tiffy_Reads

"So many, I had not thought death had undone so many."

At Dunkin Donuts

It's #NationalPoetryMonth, so I'm reading my Arion Press edition with some Tai Ping Hou Kui. "If there were water...", I would simply make #tea.

Feeling this one in my very soul today

I'm writing out by hand some of my favorite poems by hand for #nationalpoetrymonth

Also in a vain attempt to improve my handwriting.

Did I love this poem? Yes. Did I understand it? No. But I don't think it matters. It is evocative in a way that a lot of poetry isn't. It creates a mood of clarity even when there isn't much actual understanding. What helped me appreciate this poem the most was one of the final lines: "These fragments I have shored against my ruins" Lightbulb moment. I had to stop thinking of The Waste Land as a narrative and think of it as assembled fragments.

A student just sent me a picture of her wall calendar with the caption 'Aaaargh, Eliot is stalking me!!' We discussed The Waste Land in class two weeks ago. 😂😂😂

Until we meet again...

Preparing for my seminar on Friday. I think my copy of The Waste Land says a lot: it's been held dear but also worked with for a few years now. ❤

St Louis Walk of Fame-enjoying the beautiful morning

April is the cruelest month, breeding
lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
memory and desire, stirring
dull roots with spring rain.

This poem is full of quotes I like. Not saying I understand them or this poem for that matter. #somethingforsept #quotes

5/5