The Waste Land Facsimile
By TS Eliot, poet; Ezra Pound, editor
Review by Victoria G (English)
Everyone thinks they know how The Waste Land聽starts, 鈥淎pril is the cruelest month鈥�, and so it goes. However, the Facsimile is a collection of original manuscript documents from the drafting and editing of the poem by Ezra Pound, and shows the various stages of the poem from its conception to its actualisation. Who knew the poem, originally called 鈥淗e Do the Police in Different Voices鈥�, started 鈥渇irst we had a couple of feelers down at Tom鈥檚 place,/ There was old Tom, boiled to the eyes, blind鈥�. I first looked at the Facsimile when I was studying The Waste Land聽at A Level, and was fascinated by the concept of an editorial process. I hadn鈥檛 really thought about how a piece of Literature comes into being, but the Facsimile is interesting because it shows how much a document can change before it is published.
Sometimes looking at the things that were left out is just as interesting as what鈥檚 included. There鈥檚 something very personal about the Facsimile: looking at Eliot and Pound鈥檚 handwriting reminds us that these men were real people, and not just famous names with poems attached to them. It鈥檚 also quite funny at times, Pound鈥檚 comments and changes were somewhat brutal! I haven鈥檛 looked at The Waste Land聽in the same way since, and it inspired a real interest in manuscript culture in me. I鈥檇 thoroughly recommend it to anyone with an interest in Literature, even if it鈥檚 to see what T.S Eliot鈥檚 handwriting looked like!
The Waste Land Facsimile by TS Eliot, poet; Ezra Pound, editor
ISBN-10: 9780571254507
ISBN-13: 978-0571254507
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