THE WASTELAND
by Harper Jameson with W.A.W. Parker
Level 4 Press. 270 pages, $18.95
THE WASTELAND is an imaginative novel constructed around the secret gay life of poet T. S. Eliot and the creation of his monumental poem The Waste Land, which was published in 1922. It portrays Eliot as a lonely, tormented man, conflicted between finding true love and achieving literary success.
Eliot’s life and writings offer much speculation about whether he was gay. Lyndall Gordon mentions in her biography of the poet that he asked a friend whether to “take legal action over a 1952 article on his supposed homosexuality,” remarking that “that does not happen to be my temperament.” His quick marriage to his first wife Vivienne, done so he would “feel something,” seems to recapitulate the behavior of many closeted gay men.
The novel uses these biographical and literary hints to build an alternate history of Eliot. Jameson and Parker do take some liberties. For instance, Eliot worked at Lloyd’s of London, not the Bank of London, and he married Vivienne much earlier in real life than as portrayed—which the epilogue acknowledges and explains. The novel shows Eliot tentatively exploring London’s secret gay life, the Pansy Club, and carrying on a passionate yet tortured relationship with Jack, for whom he writes sexually explicit poetry. All the while, he’s working on his poetry and nurturing friendships with other writers who can help him achieve success.
The Wasteland is also imaginative in its use of materials from Eliot’s best-known works. Characters from his poetry make frequent appearances, interacting with him. Prufrock, serving as a guard, tries to keep him from temptation with Jack. Madame Sosostris of The Waste Land reads his tarot cards, hissing like a snake. Eliot’s “King Bolo” poems, part of his private stash of pornographic, troubling verses—which include racist, anti-Semitic, and misogynistic language—play a large role in the novel, both as plot elements and as suggestions of his sexuality. Other literary figures from Eliot’s life show up, notably Ezra Pound, who bails Eliot out of jail when he’s arrested for a homosexual encounter. Bertrand Russell keeps the front door to his apartment open during sex and sleeps with both Vivienne and Eliot when they come to him for couples counseling. W. H. Auden shows up at a coffeehouse to recite his poetry. Even Robert Frost makes a cameo, prompting a flustered, self-conscious Eliot to seek his autograph.
Eliot comes across as an unlikable figure, but in ways perhaps recognizable to LGBT people. Having found himself married to Vivienne almost by accident, he treats her coldly, even cruelly, avoiding her attempts at intimacy. Vivienne describes their one sexual encounter brutally, as almost a rape. While sex with Jack is ecstatic, he cannot commit to a life with a man and continually pushes his lover away, only to seek him out again before too long. This indecisiveness and secrecy create intense anguish for Jack and tragic consequences for Vivienne. While Eliot eventually gets what he desires, the cost seems awfully high.
The novel has a rhythmic, poetic style, including much rhyming, which works well as an intense look inside Eliot’s conflicted mind. At the beginning, the narrator refers to himself as “Mr. Eliot,” but soon switches to “Tom,” which is what he asks Jack to call him. The Wasteland offers an inventive, albeit highly speculative, unmasking of the deeply reserved, guarded poet.
Charles Green is a writer based in Annapolis, Maryland.
