The Voice of the Poet: T.S. Eliot

by T.S. Eliot, J.D. McClatchy (Series Editor)

Featuring rare archival recordings of the featured poet reading his own work! Each program in Random House Audio Voices' exclusive THE VOICE OF THE POET series is accompanied by a book containing the text of the poems and a commentary by J.D. McClatchy.

Genres: Poetry, Audiobook

64 pages, Audio CD

First published March 29, 2005

About the author

Thomas Stearns Eliot was a poet, dramatist and literary critic. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 "for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry." He wrote the poems The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, The Waste Land, The Hollow Men, Ash Wednesday, and Four Quartets; the plays Murder in the Cathedral and The Cocktail Party; and the essay Tradition and the Individual Talent. Eliot was born an American, moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 (at the age of 25), and became a British subject in 1927 at the age of 39.

See also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.S._Eliot

Reviews

[Jeanette (Ms. Feisty) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, I guess I'm supposed to be more impressed than I am. Eliot is considered one of the greats. I have a hard time, though, enjoying poetry that seems to be intentionally impenetrable. If I need experts and critics to explain it to me, it doesn't feel much like poetry. Give me some good old Robert Frost---accessible, clear, beautiful representations of ordinary life and the natural world.

I know The Wasteland is considered Eliot's enduring masterpiece, but I thought East Coker from Four Quartets was more compelling and had more beautiful language. There is one snippet from The Wasteland that really spoke to me, though, because it was such a perfect description of some parts of Southern Utah. (Not the author's intention, but hey, it works.)
"A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock...

[Tonya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hey, it's T. S. Eliot-- you can't go wrong with that guy!

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love that this book is also read by the author on CD. It gives you the proper intended inflection from Eliot and helps to provide a greater understanding of how/why the poem is written and separated as it is. The Wasteland was my favorite part, as this classic contains so many references and points. Definately a quick read/listen if you want it to be, but also can lend toward more detailed analysis, if you are interested.

[Al · Rating 3 out of 5]

I stumbled upon this series at the library - famous poets reciting their own poetry. It is kind of brilliant. I am going to explore more in this series.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mmmmmmmmmmm

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

I somehow love him less for having heard him read his work but the Voice of the Poet series is still great.