The Waste Land in Our Time
$265
T. S. Eliot’s long poem, The Waste Land, first published in 1922, irreversibly altered the course of modern poetry in English and gave voice to a generation’s intellectual, spiritual, and emotional stuggles. Eliot’s already pervasive influence as a critic and as the author of a handful of enigmatic poems, and his involvement with the first stirrings of literary modernism (including his promotion of James Joyce and his editorial collaborations with Ezra Pound), helped prepare the ground for the poem’s appearance. But no one, least of all Eliot himself, could have anticipated the poem’s impact or its enduring influence on generations of artists, scholars, and common readers. By turns deeply personal and elusively impersonal, lyrically intense yet permeated with allusions and references, The Waste Land has inspired, puzzled and even enraged generations of readers, even as the title itself became permanently established in the popular imagination.
Ezra Pound once declared that “Literature is news that stays news.” In this six week seminar, we will make an effort to read Eliot’s poem with fresh eyes and open minds while also exploring the poem’s potential relevance to, and resonance with, our own time. For additional perspctive, we will conclude with a perusal of Eliot’s late poem, Four Quartets.
Access Program
We want our writing classes to be accessible to everyone, regardless of income and background. We understand that our tuition structure can present obstacles for some people. Our Access Program offers writing class and seminar tuitions at a reduced rate. Most writing classes have at least one access spot available.
Please apply here for access rate tuition. Contact Susan Moore at susan@literary-arts.org if you have questions.
Liaison position
Every in-person class and seminar at Literary Arts has one liaison position. Liaisons perform specific duties for each class meeting. If you are a liaison for a class or seminar, the full amount of your tuition is covered by Literary Arts.
Apply here for the liaison position.
Christopher Zinn
Christopher Zinn grew up in Pine City, New York, and was educated at Georgetown and at New York University, where he received his Ph.D. in English and American Literature. Christopher currently teaches humanities at the Portland Waldorf High School.
