The Essential T.S. Eliot

A selection of the most significant and enduring poems from one of the twentieth century’s major writers, chosen and introduced by Vijay Seshadri, performed by T.S. Eliot, Vijay Seshadri, Daniel Halpern, Willem Dafoe, Natasha Trethewey, Meghan O'Rourke, Natalie Diaz, Frank Bidart,  Joy Harjo, Rosanna Warren, Emily Jungmin Yoon, Tracy K. Smith, Nicole Sealey, Jorie Graham, Kevin Young, Louise Glück, Eileen Myles, Carol Muske-Dukes, Campbell McGrath, Robert Hass, and Monica Youn.



T.S. Eliot was a towering figure in twentieth century literature, a renowned poet, playwright, and critic whose work—including “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” (1915), The Waste Land (1922), Four Quartets (1943), and Murder in the Cathedral (1935)—continues to be among the most-read and influential in the canon of American literature. 



The Essential T.S. Eliot collects Eliot’s most lasting and important poetry in one career-spanning audiobook, with an introduction from Vijay Seshadri, one of our foremost poets.



PERFORMER TABLE OF CONTENTS



Introduction by Vijay Seshadri: Vijay Seshadri



La Figlia che Piange: T.S. Eliot



Portrait of a Lady: Daniel Halpern



Preludes: T.S. Eliot



Rhapsody on a Windy Night: Meghan O'Rourke



Mr. Apollinax: Natalie Diaz



The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock: Frank Bidart



Gerontion: Joy Harjo



Dans le Restaurant: Rosanna Warren



Whispers of Immortality: Emily Jungmin Yoon



The Waste Land: Willem Dafoe and Tracy K. Smith



The Hollow Men: Nicole Sealey



Ash Wednesday: Jorie Graham



Marina: Kevin Young



Journey of the Magi: Louise Gluck



Coriolan: Eileen Myles



Choruses from “The Rock”: I, III, IV, VII: Carol Muske-Dukes (III, VII) and Natasha Trethewey (I, IV)



Old Deuteronomy: Campbell McGrath



Sweeney Agonistes: Vijay Seshadri and Rosanna Warren



From Four Quartets: Burnt Norton; Little Gidding: Robert Hass



Tradition and Individual Talent: Monica Youn



Text from Collected Poems, 1909-1962:Copyright 1930, 1940, 1941, 1942, 1943, 1963 by T.S. Eliot; Copyright 1954, 1956, 1959, 1963 by Thomas Stearns Eliot; Copyright renewed 1958, 1962, 1964 by Thomas Stearns Eliot; Copyright 1934, 1936 by Harcourt Brace & Company; Copyright 1948 by Faber & Faber Limited; Copyright renewed 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1982, 1984, 1991 by Esme Valerie Eliot; Text from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats: Copyright 1939 by T.S. Eliot; Copyright renewed 1967 by Esme Valerie Eliot.