T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns Eliot OMwas an American-born British essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic and "one of the twentieth century's major poets". He moved to England in 1914 at age 25, settling, working and marrying there. He was eventually naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39, renouncing his American citizenship...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionPoet
Date of Birth26 September 1888
CountryUnited States of America
genius talent stealing
Talent imitates, but genius steals.
crafts stealing mediocre
Mediocre writers borrow; great writers steal.
genius talent stealing
Talent imitates, genius steals.
stealing poet
Bad poets imitate, good poets steal.
art unique stealing-things
One of the surest tests of the superiority or inferiority of a poet is the way in which a poet borrows. Immature poets imitate mature poets steal bad poets deface what they take and good poets make it into something better or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique utterly different than that from which it is torn the bad poet throws it into something which has no cohesion. A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time or alien in language or diverse in interest.
stealing poet great-poet
Good poets borrow, great poets steal
stealing-things immature different
Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different.
questions steel surgeon wounded
The wounded surgeon plies the steel / That questions the distempered part.
edge river sea within
The river is within us, the sea is all about us; The sea is the land's edge also
beyond communication dead death fire language speech
And what the dead had no speech for, when living, they can tell you, being dead: the communication of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living.
further
And we must think no further of you.
birth hour pray
Pray for us now and at the hour of our birth.
entertainment joke listen lonesome medium millions people permits radio remain
Radio is a medium of entertainment which permits millions of people to listen to the same joke at the same time, and yet remain lonesome
bright daughter feet moon mrs porter soda wash
O the moon shone bright on Mrs Porter / And on her daughter / They wash their feet in soda water.