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Arts & Books Magazine poetry TS Eliot

Book review: ‘Young Eliot: From St Louis to The Waste Land’ by Robert Crawford

By Sameer Rahim  
February 19, 2015
March 2015

Young Eliot: From St Louis to The Waste Land by Robert Crawford (Jonathan Cape, £25)91oHbhiDIfL

TS Eliot didn’t want anyone to write his biography, and for a long time his widow Valerie Eliot (who died in 2012) made life difficult for anyone trying to do so. Fifty years after his death, though, Robert Crawford—himself a fine poet—has produced a biography of Eliot up to 1922 that, unlike previous attempts, can freely quote from the works and letters. Taking full advantage, Crawford packs his sentences with the author’s own words, offering a…

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Sameer Rahim

Sameer Rahim is Prospect’s Managing Editor. His novel “Asghar and Zahra” (JM Originals) was longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize. He was a judge for the 2020 Booker Prize

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