Publisher's Synopsis
T.S. Eliot remains one of the most influential literary figures of the 20th century. A re-evaluation of his place by some of the leading critics of our time is, therefore, an event of some importance. This collection of essays, most published here for the first time, examines Eliot's role as a poet and critic, using cultural and literary analysis to position him at the forefront of modern literature.;In some way or another, all of these essays deal with the placing of Eliot - geographically, culturally, philosophically or within the context of literary history. The essayists address the poems, the plays and the critical literature in their attempt to reassess Eliot and evaluate the poet's placing of himself through his work. Especially interesting is Michael Butler Yeats's essay, which draws on the correspondence between his father, William Butler Yeats, and Eliot to explore the relationship between two major poets of our time.;The first part of the volume collects the keynote addresses of the T. S. Eliot Society for the years 1984 through 1989 and includes such contributors, in addition to the editor of the collection, as Ronald Schuchard, Grover Smith, James Olney, A.D. Moody and Leonard Unger. The second part presents the Centennial Lectures of the T.S. Eliot Society's celebration in 1988 of the one-hundredth anniversary of the poet's birth in St. Louis. The centennial contributors includes scholars, some of whom, like Cleanth Brooks and Russell Kirk, knew Eliot personally.;Scholars, students, and the serious reader of modern poetry should find "The Placing of T.S. Eliot" insightful and engaging.
