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.