Tessera

John Morgenstern

@johnmorgenstern.bsky.social

Copyright and Scholarly Communications Librarian @ Emory University, former Director of Clemson UP, modernist scholar, friend of dogs (and at least one cat)

3 Posts827 Follower 531 Folgt

Ria Banerjee @ria4983.bsky.social · last yr.

People are marching, and my book has its first review! So grateful and delighted - thank you, @johnmorgenstern.bsky.social 🌻

A standout reading of "Gerontion" (1920), to name one of several insightful reassessments that
delineate an anticolonialist trajectory, demonstrates Eliot's use of architectural metaphor and history to evoke British imperialism
during the interwar years. The poem moves through Gerontion's "draughty house," traversing "contrived corridors" before shifting to
Belle Isle, the Horn of Africa, and an unspecified Gulf, where it encounters the trade winds, a symbol of "global interdependence
(financial, political, and also of war)."11 Drawing on concurrent architectural theory, Banerjee attends closely to the poem's
"corridors," bringing to bear their relationship to imperial history. After encountering corridors in Caribbean architecture during the
eighteenth century, British builders introduced this design feature into governmental buildings, such as law courts and police
stations, recognizable bastions of state authority. "Reading the poem with architectural theory in mind," Banerjee explains, "uncovers
sedimented layers of colonial consciousness implicit in the poem."12

While an anticolonial Eliot may appear unrecognizable, incongruous
with the image of him as the elder statesman of Anglophone poetry, the
stakes for thoughtful reassessments such as those modeled throughout
Drafty Houses are high. "Eliot might not occupy a central place in litera-
ture classrooms globally for much longer (or anymore)," Banerjee reminds
us, "but the argumentative, anti-authoritarian, elitist yet democratic,
sometimes wrongheaded poet might well have relished the prospect of
once again struggling for inclusion in robust discussions of poetry and
literature."13 If Eliot's work is to have continued life in the decades to come,
it must remain open to fresh air.

Ria Banerjee @ria4983.bsky.social · 2y ago

NYC-area modernists, pls join us on Friday April 25 at the CUNY Grad Center for this. We'll have food, book giveaways, great conversation. All students and enthusiasts welcome!

Comparative Literature @ CUNY GC@complitgccuny.bsky.social · 2y ago

John Morgenstern @johnmorgenstern.bsky.social · 2y ago

Join the annual conference of the @intleliotsociety.bsky.social in Dublin 2–5 July! Abstracts due 1 April to tseliotsociety@gmail.com. All the details available here: bit.ly/TSEDublin2025. @moderniststudies.bsky.social @modernistudies.bsky.social

CFP for the 46th Annual Meeting of the International T. S. Eliot Society – International T. S. Eliot Society

sites.lsa.umich.edu

Association of University Presses @aupresses.bsky.social · 2y ago

University presses have long published scholarly works that shed light on even the most complex systems and contentious current events. Here is essential reading for all who seek to understand & nurture democracy, from our member presses & their expert authors. https://bit.ly/3Zqf8us #ReadUP

University Presses Offer Essential Resources for Understanding Democracy - Association of University Presses

Selected books, journal articles, reading lists, and commentary from AUPresses members and their expert authors in a wide range of fields

bit.ly

John Morgenstern @johnmorgenstern.bsky.social · 2y ago

The paperback of the Edinburgh Companion to T. S. Eliot and the Arts is out this month (much better later than never!). It's also ~$145 cheaper than the hardcover original. Fingers crossed that the new, more affordable edition brings new readers to this book that was a true labor of love to create

The Edinburgh Companion to T. S. Eliot and the Arts

edinburghuniversitypress.com