T.S. Eliot

Legacy: the Artists Behind the Legends

Thomas Stearns Eliot was an Anglo-American poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, and critic active during the early 20th century, a man with a career so profound he would go on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1948 “for his outstanding, pioneer contribution to present-day poetry.” As cliché as it sounds, Tom was an absolute genius when it came to poetry, and he brought about a dramatic shift of context and voice with his literary works in what many have termed anti-Romanticism. I could drabble on for hours about Tom’s poetry, but we are here to dissect the man behind the pen, and let me tell you there is much more than you might expect behind the mask of straight-laced formality Eliot tries to wear in public. Tom was a prankster, loving everything from surprising guests with exploding cigars and whoopee cushions to setting off stink bombs in hotel lobbies with his nephew. His beloved cat, Noilly Prat, was named after his favorite brand of vermouth, and yes, like everyone else in the early 20th century, Eliot loved him some gin. Another odd fact? Tom was a huge fan of the Marx brothers, and “Duck Soup” might have been one of his favorite movies of all time. However, like so many of our writers, Tom had his own demons to battle, most notably a tremendous amount of anxiety and a wife who unfortunately was mentally unstable for most of their marriage. So, who was this talented and well-respected genius of his generation…we are about to find out together on this week’s episode of Legacy: the Artists Behind the Legends.