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> and for readers who believe that favoring female and minority voices is a moral and ethical issue, Eliot’s male and privileged background works against him.

I find it strange that you suggest younger readers would pass over Eliot given his race and background. If one is going to mix ethics and art, surely the fact that Eliot was an adamant anti-semite would be considered long before Eliot's race or background.

Even when Eliot was alive, there were calls from those in the currently "over thirty" crowd to discard Eliot (or fellow anti-semites like Ezra Pound) from literary study.

My own impressions of "under thirty readers" is far more favorable than yours. They seem as thoughtful as ever and take a very nuanced view of such issues. I think one can recognize the brilliance of Eliot's work, but also argue that time for literary study is limited at every level, so making cuts is inevitable. If we are making cuts anyway, arguing that diversity and ethical considerations are worth considering seems quite reasonable.

(or fellow anti-semites like Ezra Pound)

Not to make excuses for Eliot's anti-semitism but Pound was a raging fascist no mere 'fellow anti-semite'. A whole other level of ick.

The literary critic, Christopher Ricks, disputes that characterization of Eliot as an anti-semite. He wrote a book in defense of him here: https://www.amazon.com/T-Eliot-Prejudice-Christopher-Ricks/d...

Does he? While I haven't read T.S. Eliot and Prejudice my impression is that the book is almost entirely devoted to literary analysis and doesn't attempt to exonerate Eliot himself or draw any definite conclusions about his character.

Perhaps you mean Craig Raine's Defence of T. S. Eliot?

The thoughts of great literary critics not withstanding, my own conclusion is that I think several of Eliot's poems are anti-semitic in a rather straightforward way.

"And the Jew squats on the window sill, the owner,

Spawned in some estaminet of Antwerp,

Blistered in Brussels, patched and peeled in London."

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/47254/gerontion

There is no disputing Eliot's antisemtism. Eliot was born in the late 1800s. Back then pretty much everyone, especially the educated, were antisemites and racist. Even the "lovable" Albert Einstein was racist. It was a different world/time. And the racism of Eliot or Einstein doesn't detract from the work. You have to separate the art/science from the artist/scientist.

"Back then pretty everyone were antisemites and racist".

That's a pretty bold statement, but I will add that the modern state of Israel could not have come about without some key luminaries who stood up for the Jewish people. One being Benjamin Disraeli, UK prime minister. Among many others. In fact, it could be argued that the uk in the 1800s was one of the friendliest places for Jews to live and work.

Also, much of 19th century English literature has a history of jewish friendly works. Look at such works as George Eliot's "Daniel Deronda", William Blake's Jerusalem, Lord Byron's Hebrew Hymns.

I discovered Eliot in my 20s. I’m still discovering him: I’ve been working my way through Four Quartets for about five years. Spent about 10 years discovering The Waste Land.

Yes he’s a privileged white male.

But even for younger readers, that’s not a huge turn off.

Besides, he may have been gay.

Regarding his public stature - he’s still present - more so than, say, Ezra Pound.

For example, “Better You Believe” (http://www.nightmare-magazine.com/fiction/better-you-believe...) is one of the most popular short stories of the past decade. It’s partially inspired by the Waste Land. Parts of Song if Ice and Fire also drew inspiration from it.

Some readers must have an enormous problem with literary output by 'anonymous'. They might even have to resort to judging a piece on its merit.

I view the waste land as a form of hiphop before the concept ever existed. It's the pinnacle of rhythmic language and I guess it came before the beat generation? But yea it's like reading Ulysses by James Joyce -- you're better off reading it with a guide

The Beats are in the 50s (e.g., Howl 1956, On the Road 1957). The Waste Land is 1922.

The Waste Land was heavily influenced by radio. It’s as if you’re flipping through different channels.

Also Eliot included rigorous footnotes. Still helps to have a guide, but the footnotes go a long way.

I think you're right, which saddens me. Is it not possible for a while elite male to write about the universal?

"I will show you fear in a handful of dust."

Who could remain unmoved by words like these, regardless of sex or color?

Right? David Bowie, for instance; incredibly influential to me despite his white male-ness.

David Bowie, extremely influential to me as well and not caring what color his skin was, what religion or any affiliation he had. The status quo is irrelevant to me, rather think for myself, stumble on stuff and appreciate it all by myself.

David Bowie still has considerable cultural weight even amomg some people distrustful of white males, purely because he presented as queer. This turns out to have been an act -- Bowie was comfortable hanging out with queer personalities but he himself was quite vanilla -- but that act was successful.

> for readers who believe that favoring female and minority voices is a moral and ethical issue

A strange morality indeed that mandates sexism and racism...

Indeed. It is produced by the addition of qualifiers to words like "justice." As if justice, equality, and such need qualifiers. It's about inverting oppression instead of getting rid of it. As if oppression is any better inverted.

What is strange about it? The male only canon is result of morality that mandated sexism. If that was not strange, adding some women into mix is not strange and existence of some (apparently minority) people who prefer women should not be strange either.

It comes down to the old question, "Do two wrongs make a right?"

If racism is a function of power, then calling for readers to eschew white male voices in favor of disempowered female and minority voices is arguably not a "wrong".

I think it's closer to The Trolley Problem.

Adding some women into the mix seems like a whole different kettle of fish than saying that for moral reasons people are going to have to stop enjoying white male authors!

(Also, I don't think the prevailing western attitude was that it was immoral to enjoy women authors. They certainly existed and were popular! Shelley, Bronte Sisteres, George Eliot, Jane Austen, probably lots more... I think the situation was more like sexism was a thing and not contraindicated by prevailing morality. To respond to that historical fact by postulating that it's now morally required to not enjoy white + male writers, as some sort of psychic vengeance of evening of the scales, continues to seem strange to me.)

(Of course, on an individual level, read whatever you want.)

The Brontes originally had to publish under male pseudonyms (or rather, pseudonyms of intentionally indeterminate sex). George Eliot is a male pseudonym. Jane Austen arguably wasn't considered serious literature until recent decades; previously her status was more similar to, say, Miss Read in that she was a writer of rather lightweight tales for mainly a female audience.

Perhaps we should republish Eliot under a female pseudonym?

But yes, fair points, and I'm not disputing there was sexism! But to describe the situation as "male only" is overstating things significantly.

Males currently have no problem to get printed, get publicity and get attention. It is just not true that it would be impossible or hard for male writer to get success.

So, there is not reason to reprint male under female pseudonym. With exception od romantic literature, male pseudonym is not disadvantage at all.

But, my original point was that there is nothing strange or unusual about morality that is sexist in one way or the other, that was actually norm.

How about: strange post-Enlightenment to see explicitly sexist morality become trendy? I take your point that viewed from a broader historical context it's not strange at all.

> strange post-Enlightenment to see explicitly sexist morality become trendy?

Enlightenment period ended in 1815, it is 2020 now.

post

but we're still living in an era largely defined by enlightenment ideas/ideals

(tho, increasingly less so, as evidenced by eg this thread)

Lots of Eliot's well-known work is a century old, plenty of it is short, most of it has been through the wringer of various forms of literary theory, interpretation and critique. I'm not sure what evidence there is the idea of a canon has come under some particularly 'savage' recent critique that would affect people under 30 especially or that such people don't read much on paper or that the work itself is particularly tied to paper in some important way. I think you're shoehorning some sort of generalized social critique/viewpoint of your own into the perception of Eliot and I can't see how it actually fits other than by generalities so mushy they can be made to fit anything.

Thus, while Eliot’s stature is momentarily high because readers of an older generation with older values are presently in a position of authority and can celebrate him, I suspect a critical backlash in the years to come.

"Older" values like an appreciation of brilliance, originality and beauty? In your ageist dismissal, you inadvertently do the young wise (who won't be so easily misled by similar prejudice) a disservice!

There will only be a critical backlash by people whose screwed-tight political blinkers do not permit them to see genius, whatever their age.

While I don't disagree with you, I think at some level we need to remove the "lens" with which we are appreciating poetry or any other art-form and to appreciate it for the art itself. In that regards his privileged upbringing or whiteness shouldn't take away from the merits of his actual poetry.