Collection context
Summary
- Abstract:
- The Parsons mss., 1928-1935, consist of letters written by poet Thomas Stearns (T. S.) Eliot, 1888-1965, to Ian Macnaghten Parsons, 1906-1980, publisher.
- Extent:
- 1 folio(s)
- Language:
- Materials are in English .
- Preferred citation:
[Item], Parsons mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
Background
- Biographical / Historical:
The Parsons mss., 1928-1935 contains correspondence by poet Thomas Stearns (T.S.) Eliot (1888-1965) to publisher Ian Macnaghten Parsons (1906-1980). Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Eliot studied at Smith Academy, Milton Academy, and later Harvard University and Merton College, Oxford. For a period of time, Eliot taught at several institutions, including Birkbeck College, University of London and Highgate School. He also befriended and came to know rising poets including Ezra Pound and John Betjeman. Eliot is known, though, for his modernist poetry: in particular, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" (1915), The Waste Land (1922) and Four Quartets (1943). Eliot also produced several plays and works of literary criticism, including his well-known essay "Tradition and the Individual Talent" (1919).
- Scope and Content:
The Parsons mss., 1928-1935, consist of letters written by poet Thomas Stearns (T. S.) Eliot, 1888-1965, to Ian Macnaghten Parsons, 1906-1980, publisher.
The letters begin when Parsons joined Chatto & Windus as an editor in October 1928 and the first two items involve getting together for lunch. In the remaining letters Eliot alternates roles between that of editor of The Criterion, soliciting articles and reviews from Parsons, and that of book editor at Faber & Faber, in which he discusses book publishing and his own role with Faber's. In the last letter he turns down a request by Parsons to write a preface for a Chatto book, but states that he "would gladly ... allow the use of some remark that I have made about Rosenberg in the past on the jacket of the book, ... or be glad to write a new little blurb for the purpose."
- Acquisition information:
- Purchase: 1984
- Physical location:
- Lilly - Folio
Access
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
This collection is open for research.
Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
[Item], Parsons mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
-
1200 East Seventh StreetBloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
- CAMPUS:
- Indiana University Bloomington
- CONTACT:
-
(812) 855-2452liblilly@iu.edu