Why T.S. Eliot still matters
standpointmag.co.uk
Why T.S. Eliot still matters
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Re: Why T.S. Eliot still matters
#2In the public forum, Eliot’s stature does seem to be high. Yet I wonder how many people celebrating him are under the age of thirty. Readers over thirty are likely to have discovered him in decades past when, firstly, there was more of a culture of actual print books (Eliot’s long and intricate verse works best on the physical page), and secondly, much of the canon (and the whole idea of a canon) had not yet been so savagely criticized as white, male and elitist.
Readers under the age of thirty, on the other hand, may have grown up discovering poetry through a phone screen, and for readers who believe that favoring female and minority voices is a moral and ethical issue, Eliot’s male and privileged background works against him.
Thus, while Eliot’s stature is momentarily high because readers of an older generation with older values are presently in a position of authority and can celebrate him, I suspect a critical backlash in the years to come.
Re: Why T.S. Eliot still matters
#3In the public forum, Eliot’s stature does seem to be high. Yet I wonder how many people celebrating him are under the age of thirty. Readers over thirty are likely to have discovered him in decades past when, firstly, there was more of a culture of actual print books (Eliot’s long and intricate verse works best on the physical page), and secondly, much of the canon (and the whole idea of a canon) had not yet been so…
I think you're right, which saddens me. Is it not possible for a while elite male to write about the universal?
"I will show you fear in a handful of dust."
Who could remain unmoved by words like these, regardless of sex or color?
Re: Why T.S. Eliot still matters
#4That's assuming he ever mattered in the first place, as good an example as any of begging the question.
Re: Why T.S. Eliot still matters
#5That's assuming he ever mattered in the first place, as good an example as any of begging the question.
He didn’t. He was a fad of high school English teachers in 2000-2005, so now a handful of 30-somethings think he was some kind of important figure. Silly.
Re: Why T.S. Eliot still matters
#6That's assuming he ever mattered in the first place, as good an example as any of begging the question.
He didn’t. He was a fad of high school English teachers in 2000-2005, so now a handful of 30-somethings think he was some kind of important figure. Silly.
> He didn’t. He was a fad of high school English teachers in 2000-2005
"The Waste Land is a poem by T. S. Eliot, widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of modernist poetry. Published in 1922"
Re: Why T.S. Eliot still matters
#7In the public forum, Eliot’s stature does seem to be high. Yet I wonder how many people celebrating him are under the age of thirty. Readers over thirty are likely to have discovered him in decades past when, firstly, there was more of a culture of actual print books (Eliot’s long and intricate verse works best on the physical page), and secondly, much of the canon (and the whole idea of a canon) had not yet been so…
I discovered Eliot in my 20s. I’m still discovering him: I’ve been working my way through Four Quartets for about five years. Spent about 10 years discovering The Waste Land.
Yes he’s a privileged white male.
But even for younger readers, that’s not a huge turn off.
Besides, he may have been gay.
Regarding his public stature - he’s still present - more so than, say, Ezra Pound.
For example, “Better You Believe” (http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/better-you-believe...) is one of the most popular short stories of the past decade. It’s partially inspired by the Waste Land. Parts of Song if Ice and Fire also drew inspiration from it.
Re: Why T.S. Eliot still matters
#8That's assuming he ever mattered in the first place, as good an example as any of begging the question.
He didn’t. He was a fad of high school English teachers in 2000-2005, so now a handful of 30-somethings think he was some kind of important figure. Silly.
It’s hot takes like this that make me come to HN to read ppl’s opinions on literary figures. It’s as if the Nebraska Farm Report had a society weddings page.
Talking about 20th century critics and not mentioning Elliot is like talking about pop music in 1960s Hamburg and failing to mention the Beatles.
Re: Why T.S. Eliot still matters
#9In the public forum, Eliot’s stature does seem to be high. Yet I wonder how many people celebrating him are under the age of thirty. Readers over thirty are likely to have discovered him in decades past when, firstly, there was more of a culture of actual print books (Eliot’s long and intricate verse works best on the physical page), and secondly, much of the canon (and the whole idea of a canon) had not yet been so…
> for readers who believe that favoring female and minority voices is a moral and ethical issue
A strange morality indeed that mandates sexism and racism...