The Literature Network - THE SECRET PASSIONS OF T.S. ELIOT ; His political views were abhorrent and his sex life was a failure. But until now, despite mountains of correspondence, we've hardly been allowed a glimpse of the real poet. Andy McSmith reports ++ Unlocking the Elio

THE SECRET PASSIONS OF T.S. ELIOT ; His political views were abhorrent and his sex life was a failure. But until now, despite mountains of correspondence, we've hardly been allowed a glimpse of the real poet. Andy McSmith reports ++ Unlocking the Elio

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From: The Independent - London
Date: 20070528
Author:Andy McSmith

"How unpleasant to meet Mr Eliot," the poet once wrote of himself, "With a bobtail cur, and a porpentine cat, and a wopsi-cal hat: how unpleasant to meet Mr Eliot (whether his mouth be open or shut)."

But just how unpleasant was he? The answer is that we do not know. He is the mystery poet. The material that would shed light on his personal life is locked in a massive archive, out of which has come, so far, just one volume of his private papers and letters, edited by his widow, Valerie, and published in 1988. It covered the years from 1898, when 10-year- old Thomas Stearns Eliot was packed ...

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THE SECRET PASSIONS OF T.S. ELIOT ; His political views were abhorrent and his sex life was a failure. But until now, despite mountains of correspondence, we've hardly been allowed a glimpse of the real poet. Andy McSmith reports ++ Unlocking the Elio

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