T. S. Eliot

10 T. S. Eliot Poems Everyone Should Read

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By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

T. S. Eliot is widely regarded as one of the most important poets of the last hundred years. Here at Interesting Literature we’re devoted fans of his work, and this got us thinking: which ten defining poems would we recommend to people who want to read him?

Although he didn’t write a huge amount of poetry (compared with, say, his contemporary Ezra Pound, whose The Cantos is nearly 800 pages), it can still be difficult for readers to pick out those works which most define him. And, of course, every Eliot fan’s choice of ten is likely to different.

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10 Great Quotes from T. S. Eliot on His Birthday

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T. S. Eliot could be as witty as Wilde and as thought-provoking as Einstein with his one-liners, and so here are some choice quotes from this leading twentieth-century poet and all-round literary giant. Eliot’s life was a fascinating one: he was born on 26 September 1888 in Missouri, studied at Harvard, then transferred to Oxford, … Read more

Five Fascinating Facts about Virginia Woolf

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By Viola van de Sandt More than seventy years after her death, Virginia Woolf continues to be a source of inspiration, analysis, interest, and admiration. Emphasis on a small number of famous events in her lifetime has turned her into a mythological figure that, at times, may have little resemblance to the flesh-and-blood woman behind … Read more

Literature and Martinis

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The great American wit and man of letters, H. L. Mencken, memorably described the martini as ‘the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet’. If the sonnet was the pinnacle of European cultural achievement, then the martini was the transatlantic equivalent. This is by no means the only literary link this iconic American drink can boast. Why is the martini such a popular and esteemed cocktail?

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