12 Unexpected Truths About T.S. Eliot

Thomas Stearns (T.S.) Eliot, born on September 26, 1888, was a modernist poet and playwright renowned for his work "The Waste Land." Beyond his literary achievements, the 1948 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate had a playful side, inventing a curse word that remains popular to this day and crafting the characters that inspired the Broadway sensation "Cats." To celebrate Eliot’s birthday, here are some lesser-known facts about the celebrated writer.

1. T.S. Eliot valued having "real" jobs.

Eliot spent much of his life balancing careers as a teacher, banker, and editor while writing poetry in his free time. He believed this balance was crucial to his craft. In a 1959 interview with The Paris Review, Eliot shared that his professional roles in banking and publishing enhanced his poetic abilities. He noted that financial independence might have stifled his creativity, leading him to produce excessive but less refined work. Instead, he found that focusing on smaller, perfected pieces while managing a career yielded better results.

2. One of Broadway's longest-running shows owes its existence to T.S. Eliot.

In 1939, Eliot released Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, a collection of whimsical poems centered around cats, which he likely penned for his godson. Unlike his typically intricate and often bleak works, these verses were lighthearted and fun. Eliot saw no conflict between his serious and playful styles, stating in his Paris Review interview that he aimed to maintain versatility in all poetic forms. Decades later, Andrew Lloyd Webber, a lifelong admirer of the book, adapted many of its poems into music, creating the iconic musical "Cats." Premiering in London in 1981 and hitting New York in 1982, the show became one of Broadway's longest-running productions.

3. T.S. Eliot limited his writing to three hours a day.

Eliot composed his poems and plays using a mix of typewriting and handwritten notes. Regardless of the method, he adhered to a strict three-hour writing limit. Reflecting on this practice, he explained that exceeding this time often led to subpar results. "It’s far better to pause and shift focus to something entirely different," he noted.

4. T.S. Eliot believed "Four Quartets" was his finest achievement.

After converting to Anglicanism and adopting British citizenship in 1927, Eliot's works from the 1930s and 1940s, such as "Ash Wednesday," "Murder in the Cathedral," and "Four Quartets," delved deeply into themes of faith and spirituality. Among these, he regarded "Four Quartets," a collection of four philosophical and spiritual poems, as his best work, with the final poem being his personal favorite.

5. T.S. Eliot shared a letter-based friendship with Groucho Marx.

In 1961, Eliot sent a fan letter to comedian Groucho Marx, sparking an exchange of letters. Marx even sent a photo of himself, and their correspondence continued for years. They finally met in 1964 when Eliot invited Marx and his wife to dinner in London. However, their meeting didn’t go as planned. Marx, expecting a "Literary Evening," tried to discuss King Lear, but Eliot was more interested in talking about Marx's 1933 film Duck Soup. According to a 2014 New Yorker article by Lee Siegel, there had been underlying tension in their correspondence all along.

6. Ezra Pound attempted to crowdfund T.S. Eliot’s literary career.

In 1921, following a nervous breakdown, Eliot took a leave from his banking job and completed "The Waste Land." His friend Ezra Pound, who edited the poem, initiated Bel Esprit, a fund to support Eliot financially, allowing him to leave banking and dedicate himself to writing. Despite securing pledges from numerous supporters, Eliot chose to keep his bank job, which he enjoyed. Misreports in The Liverpool Post, Chicago Daily Tribune, and the New York Tribune falsely claimed Eliot accepted the funds but remained at the bank. These inaccuracies were later corrected with a retraction.

7. T.S. Eliot found that writing in French helped him break through writer’s block.

After his time at Harvard, Eliot spent a year in Paris, dreaming of writing in French instead of English. While this dream didn’t fully materialize, he did compose a few poems in French during a bout of writer’s block. Reflecting on this period, he told The Paris Review, "It was a strange experience I can’t entirely explain. I felt completely drained and hadn’t written anything for a while. Writing in French somehow reignited my creativity, and soon after, I was able to write in English again. It was a temporary but effective solution to get back on track."

8. T.S. Eliot and his nephew caused chaos with stink bombs in London.

Known as Tom to his friends and family, Eliot had a mischievous side. He once took his nephew to a joke shop in London, where they bought stink bombs and set them off in a hotel lobby. Eliot also enjoyed playing pranks like handing out exploding cigars and placing whoopee cushions on his guests’ chairs.

9. T.S. Eliot might have been the first to write the term "bulls**t."

In the 1910s, Eliot penned a poem titled "The Triumph of Bulls**t," a scathing critique of his critics, akin to a Taylor Swift song of its time. Though the poem was rejected by a London magazine in 1915, its title marked the first known appearance of the word bulls**t in print, as noted by The Oxford English Dictionary.

10. T.S. Eliot famously declared, “April is the cruelest month.”

Eliot’s phrase “April is the cruelest month” has become iconic, originating from the opening lines of "The Waste Land": “April is the cruelest month, breeding/Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/Memory and desire, stirring/Dull roots with spring rain.”

11. T.S. Eliot expressed controversial views on religion.

Throughout his life, Eliot made deeply troubling statements about Jewish people, including advocating for a society with a unified religious background and criticizing cultural diversity. His early works often included negative depictions of Jewish characters. As critic Joseph Black noted in a 2010 edition of "The Waste Land" and Other Poems, Eliot’s early poetry consistently linked Jewishness with unpleasant imagery. However, his defenders highlight his close friendships with Jewish writers and artists, suggesting his views were more complex than his writings imply.

12. A film adaptation explores T.S. Eliot’s tumultuous marriage.

The 1994 film Tom & Viv, featuring Willem Dafoe, delves into Eliot’s troubled marriage with Vivienne Haigh-Wood, a dancer and socialite. They married in 1915 shortly after meeting, but their relationship deteriorated rapidly. Haigh-Wood struggled with chronic health issues, mental instability, and an addiction to ether. The couple lived apart for much of their marriage, separating in the 1930s, and she passed away in a psychiatric institution in 1947. Eliot later remarried at 68 to his 30-year-old secretary, Esmé Valerie Fletcher, and admitted that the despair of his first marriage deeply influenced "The Waste Land."

This story has been updated for 2020.