Collected Poems, 1909-1962 (The Centenary Edition) (Hardcover)

by T. S. Eliot (Author) "Let us go then, you and I,..." (more)
Key Phrases: Light Invisible, Death Those, Sweet Thames (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
Eliot's oeuvre is not as large as that of some poets, so one might as well begin early, with 'The Love-Song of J Alfred Prufrock', and move along through The Waste Land and so to his crowning achievement, The Four Quartets. Even to a non-Christian, these deeply considered, marmoreal reflections on belief and behaviour should be inescapable. Review by Richard Hoggart, whose books include 'The Uses of Literacy' and 'First and Last Things' (Kirkus UK) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
Eliot's oeuvre is not as large as that of some poets, so one might as well begin early, with 'The Love-Song of J Alfred Prufrock', and move along through The Waste Land and so to his crowning achievement, The Four Quartets. Even to a non-Christian, these deeply considered, marmoreal reflections on belief and behaviour should be inescapable. Review by Richard Hoggart, whose books include 'The Uses of Literacy' and 'First and Last Things' (Kirkus Reviews )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich; 1 edition (September 25, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151189781
• ISBN-13: 978-0151189786
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,485 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Return to the Source, September 18, 2002

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Every now and then certain turns of phrase or glimpses of landscapes in special light or just buried memories of poetic lines surface and send us back to the source for more. So often that source for this reader is TS Eliot and encountering this wondrous collection of his poems written between 1909 and 1962 reinforces the power of this great man of letters. This collection includes the major poems, those works that impacted our philosophy and our art in ways we are only now beginning to appreciate. From the ever fresh LOVE SONG OF J.ALFRED PRUFROCK "I grow old...I grow old.../I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled" and "We have lingered in the chambers of the sea/By sea-girls wreathed with seaweed red and brown/Till human voices wake us, and we drown.") to the great FOUR QUARTETS ("In my beginning is my end"), this poet rattled the universe and simultaneously whispered solace in our ears like few others have done. While my own energies are always looking for the new in poets and in writers, finding that the throne of literature has never been so sought after, I am deeply moved by returning to the masters, the source of it all. This is a fine collection for the Eliot devotees as well as for those who seek to appreciate the great voices of literature. Here are savoury moments in abundance!

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Eagle Soared to the Summit of Heaven, July 4, 2004

By	Richard (USA) - See all my reviews

Love him or hate him, you cannot deny his power. All arguments for and against Mr. Eliot can be countered easily and each have in them flaws that are substantial. T. S. Eliot cannot be read like most poets. Like the eastern scriptures he so loved, Eliot will take a lifetime for the reader to digest. Read and re-read. Question and re-read again. I became familiar with his works years ago. I have yet to tire of them. Eliot will grow with you, for his poems are the story of a man always growing and always searching. Discount the fighting that academics have over him. Read him for yourself. Immerse yourself in the spiral of darkness and light that is his poetry and judge for yourself. In the end, no matter what you think, you will not be able to deny his effect.

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Prometheus of modern poetry, August 28, 2000

By	Christopher Culver - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I became familiar with Eliot's work chronologically, learning something new at each step. "Prufrock" introduced me to modern poetical structure, "The Waste Land" showed me how literary allusion can enrich verse, "Ash-Wednesday" refreshed the world of religious poetry, and the supernal "Four Quartets" was for me a metaphysical insight of the greatest beauty.

Eliot is without a doubt the finest poet of the 20th century, perhaps the finest poet ever. His contributions to the poets who came after him, and to literature in general, are persistently evident. Eliot doesn't always succeed, and many of his poems seem trite and pretentious, but when he succeeds he hits dead on with poetry perfect in form, balance, and sound. There is the man here, the poet as reflected in his own work, but there is also common human experience through looking at history ("The Waste Land") and meditating on Man's relationship with the Divine and the eternal (Ariel Poems, and most of his output after 1928).