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The Waste Land

A Biography of a Poem

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The Waste Land

By: Matthew Hollis
Narrated by: Matthew Hollis
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About this listen

The Waste Land has been called the 'World's Greatest Poem'. It is said to describe the moral decay of a world after war, to find meaning in a meaningless era. It has been labelled the most truthful poem of its time; it has been branded a masterful fake. A century after its publication in 1922, T. S. Eliot's enigmatic masterpiece remains one of the most influential works ever written, and yet one of the most mysterious.

In a remarkable feat of biography, Matthew Hollis reconstructs the intellectual creation of the poem and brings the material reality of its charged times vividly to life. Presenting a mosaic of historical fragments, diaries, dynamic literary criticism and illuminating new research, he reveals the cultural and personal trauma that forged The Waste Land through the lives of its protagonists - of Ezra Pound, who edited it; of Vivien Eliot, who sustained it; and of T. S. Eliot himself, whose private torment is woven into the seams of the work. The result is an unforgettable story of lives passing in opposing directions and the astounding literary legacy they would leave behind.

©2022 Matthew Hollis (P)2022 Faber Audio Art & Literature Authors Literary History & Criticism Biography War

Critic reviews

"With elegance, wit and...warmth, [Hollis] tells the story of The Waste Land’s difficult birth... At times the book reads, delightfully, as a group biography of modernism’s bright lights." (Susannah Goldsbrough, The Times)

"Hollis succeeds brilliantly in bringing the literary landscape of the 1920s to life… [He] turns a complex process of literary composition into a rattling good story...wonderfully compelling." (Tristram Fane Saunders, Sunday Telegraph)
All stars
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Very good account of the making of the Waste Land from a literary and biographical perspective.

Enlightening

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.. but it is a book of far more interest than just a guide. It gave me an insight into the inception, creation and fine tuning of a poem, it connected seemingly unrelated stuff about the Twenties and Thirties (with which I was already familiar) in new, unexpected ways and it shed light on the character and personality of the poet. A wonderful book, well read.

I would never have dared tackle poem without this

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Excellent research and presentation in this well proportioned biography of a poem pitched perfectly for a wide audience and read by the author.

Thoroughly researched and beautifully written

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As a book, this was very good - provides broad cultural and social context for the creation of The Waste Land, with some very specific coverage of the creation of the poem itself. Made me very much reassess my perception of Ezra Pound (previously dismissed as just a fascist, though the period covered here predates that part of his life), who is more of a central figure here than even Eliot.

Read by the author, it's a real shame this isn't better in audio form. The guy has a nice voice, but the pacing of his reading is among the worst I've come across. Weird long pauses. Strange emphasis on names - Geee.... Kaaay... CHESTERton my constant favourite. Seemingly incapable of saying more than three words at a time without stopping for breath. Even on 2x speed it was still painfully slow.

Fascinating book, difficult reading

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A highly enlightening backstory to this famous poem. The writing and narration create a memorable atmospheric that stayed with me long afterwards.

Informative and atmospheric

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