Thomas Stearns (T. S.) Eliot
(1888-1965)
Biographical Information
Thomas Stearns Eliot (1888-1965) was born in St. Louis, Missouri. He
attended undergraduate college at Harvard, and performed his graduate
work in philosophy at the Sorbonne, Harvard, Merton College, and Oxford.
He eventually settled in England (1914), where he worked briefly as a
schoolmaster, a bank clerk, and eventually literary editor for the publishing
house Faber & Faber, of which he later became a director. Eliot founded
and edited the literary journal Criterion (1922-1939). In 1927,
Eliot, no longer a U.S. citizen, became a British citizen. After a notoriously
unhappy first marriage, Eliot separated from his first wife in 1933, and
was remarried, to Valerie Fletcher, in 1956. After his many years and
contributions, T. S. Eliot received the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1948. T. S. Eliot died in London, 1965.
It was in London that Eliot was greatly influenced by poet Ezra Pound. It was Pound who assisted in the publication of his work in a number of magazines, most notably "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" in Poetry in 1915. His first book of poems, Prufrock and Other Observations, was published in 1917, and established him as a leading poet of the avant-garde. With the publication of The Waste Land in 1922, Eliot's reputation grew; by 1930, and for the next thirty years, he was one of the most dominant figures in poetry and literary criticism. His major later poems include Ash Wednesday (1930) and Four Quartets (1943); his books of literary and social criticism include The Sacred Wood (1920), The Use of Poetry and the Use of Criticism (1933), After Strange Gods (1934), and Notes Towards the Definition of Culture (1940). Eliot was also an important playwright, whose verse dramas include Murder in the Cathedral, The Family Reunion, and The Cocktail Party.
Background Information
The Wasteland: Audio Files of Eliot
This a site that contains an audio version of the five sections of The Wasteland as read by T. S. Eliot.
An excellent site that provides a thorough life history. This site also offers audio readings of T. S. Eliot works, as well as a listing of his poetry, prose, and drama.
This is a very informative site that includes both biographical information as well as examples of his work
This is an excellent site that contains a glance at T.S. Eliot, his life and events, examples of his poetry and ideology, as well as quotations.
A wonderful site that provides background information, a timeline, as well as in depth commentaries on the work of T. S. Eliot.
This site contains an article by R. F. Fleissner, December 1999, which critiques the work of T. S. Eliot as being anti-sematic in nature.
The Work of T. S. Eliot
This site provides a brief synopsis of the biographical information of T. S. Eliot, as well as provides examples of his poetry and literary works.
- What the Thunder Said
- A site devoted to the many literary works of T.S. Eliot. Includes various examples of his works, divided between poetry, plays, and nonfiction literary/social criticism or essays.
This is an online database that can be used to search for works by T. S. Eliot's Collected Poems 1909-1962 using a particular word or phrases from his works.
This site contains many of the works of T. S. Eliot as well as notes on his life and works.
Question & Answer Forums
This is an electronic discussion list devoted to the works and life of poet, playwright, and critic T. S. Eliot (1888-1965).
This is a chat forum where people can find information about T. S. Eliot and also post any questions that they have regarding the author and his many works. Includes interpretations of his works, responses to individual's interpretations, and information on how to find his work on that is posted on the internet.
Various Links
This site maintained by the Nobel Museum, containing the a brief history of T. S. Eliot. This site also contains the presentation speech and the acceptance speech made by T. S. Eliot upon receiving the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948.
This is a site where books containing the works of T.S. Eliot can be purchased.
Purchasing the Works of Thomas Stearns Eliot
This site offers resources on how to purchase works of T. S. Eliot including books, essays, poetry, and plays. Also has links to copies of his work online.
This site lists the various works of T.S. Eliot as well as provides links to various other sites that features his work.