THE WASTELAND and OTHER POEMS by T.S. Eliot

THE WASTELAND and OTHER POEMS
by T.S. Eliot 
(introduction and notes by Randy Malamud) 
(Barnes & Noble Classics 2005; originally published by T.S. Eliot in 1917 - 1922)

Do you enjoy reading poetry? Do you enjoy comparing writers with vastly different approaches writing in the same time period? Or do you wonder sometimes why certain authors are judged to be geniuses?

I typically do not enjoy reading poetry because it is typically difficult to follow. On the other hand, that difficulty also requires one to think through what the writer is trying to say and then ascertain what that message means to one’s own life.

I find the work of T.S. Eliot to be dark and almost unfathomable. When I read these poems, I thought of other writers working in the same time period, before and after World War I,  at Oxford in England, including Tolkein, C.S. Lewis, and Charles Dobson. All of the latter writers were professors in various schools writing what appeared to be children’s stories, though each has generated a wake of immense treasure, including writing, movies, stories, video games, and so on.

As usual in reading such poetry once I pick up the book and start reading and thinking, I found the process enjoyable. In the Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrok, I found what seemed to be a lonely young man (Eliot was then about 27) pining for a love. It felt like someone with a lonely internal soul describing a weird fascination with a potential lover. I found myself comparing this to the characters of  Alice in Wonderland or the Lord of the Rings. 

This edition from Barnes & Noble Classics is a compact edition. The introduction and footnotes by Randy Malamud are excellent. They certainly put the poems into a much clearer light, with an explanation of Eliot’s life and the various references in the work itself which would have no meaning to most of us today. He also provides translation of most of the Italian or other language asides in the poems.

It is a joy to read and think, then apply the learning to your own emotions and life. This is one of those works that certainly facilitates that process.

Warms, Cym

Barnes and Noble