by Bill Isaacs

Bill Isaacs: In 1922 T.S. Eliot wrote the epic poem The Waste Land, arguably one of the most influential pieces of writing of the 20^th century. The 1920’s reputedly were a period of roaring accomplishments but were in actuality a mix of swirling heights and looming shadows of what was to come. A young Eliot (he was 33 at the time) wrote a remarkable poem that described the mood of decay and the spiritual ills of modern Europe. It narrates the difficulties even as it seeks to find a way out of them. I think it’s useful to think of this now because the age in which Eliot wrote has its echoes in our time. People today are feeling a similar kind of angst, of coming challenge, replete with modern words to describe it, like “climate anxiety” and the “polycrisis,” a condition of systemic disease where  everything collapses together in a tangled mess of troubles.