T.S. Eliot, The Waste Land and Other Poems (1930)

A departure for me, yes. A welcome one. I'd periodically come across comments referring to Eliot's towering influence in mid-century American high culture. I wanted to know more. So my colleague and friend Ezra Nielsen lent me this slim volume. I loved it. I admit I know nothing about how to read poetry. It was a chastening experience to feel lost at sea. But Ezra gave me some tips about the content - the sense of brokenness of the world (my words, not his) - and recommended I read the poems out loud and relish the words. Which I did. I plan to read them several times more.