John Morgenstern
LightNews LightNews
banner
johnmorgenstern.bsky.social
John Morgenstern
@johnmorgenstern.bsky.social
800 followers 530 following 3 posts
Copyright and Scholarly Communications Librarian @ Emory University, former Director of Clemson UP, modernist scholar, friend of dogs (and at least one cat)
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by John Morgenstern
ria4983.bsky.social
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.
June 15, 2025 at 3:11 PM
Reposted by John Morgenstern
ria4983.bsky.social
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!
March 11, 2025 at 2:12 PM
johnmorgenstern.bsky.social
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
January 9, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Reposted by John Morgenstern
aupresses.bsky.social
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
December 9, 2024 at 3:35 PM
johnmorgenstern.bsky.social
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
The Edinburgh Companion to T. S. Eliot and the Arts
edinburghuniversitypress.com
November 14, 2024 at 6:56 PM