I took a trip down to the central STL library and I was greeted by an impressive statue of German poet Friedrich Schiller. I can't think of any immediate connection he has with the City of St. Louis, but I am reminded of a similar statue of Robert Burns located near Forest Park.
When I arrived at the central library, above, it was 94 degrees. As soon as I stepped inside, I saw a bust of another famous Missourian, Mark Twain, who seems to show up in the unlikeliest places. (Hannibal, Twain's hometown, is at least two and a half hours from downtown St. Louis.)
When I asked the circulation desk if there was a special display for T.S. Eliot, I don't think he really knew what I was talking about. I explained that I had read about a plaque that was dedicated to Eliot. He was quite certain that nothing like that existed anywhere in the library, but I persuaded him to call around. After three phone calls, he discovered that there was in fact a plaque but it was locked in an area of the library used for rare books and special collections. He called again and found someone who would let me in to see it.
I went downstairs to the Special Collections Reading Room and was led to a the back area. "Sorry about the lighting, but we don't get too many people asking for this," I was told. In the corner I saw this:
I asked if they had anything else, but all he really wanted to show me was the personal collection of William Marion Reedy, someone I had never heard of before. I made the mistake of showing interest, saying I saw a large statue of Reedy next to the Twain bust. "Yes, yes, that's Reedy upstairs. We really take pride in writers from St. Louis and Reedy is one of the best. He really is quite popular here in the city. It's a shame he didn't receive the recognition he deserves. Everybody talks about Mencken, but he couldn't hold a candle to Reedy."
Indeed.
So, to recap:
Scottish poets
German poets
writers from Hannibal, Mo.
and second rate literary critics
All seem to rate slightly higher than Eliot.
1 comment:
TJ,
First of all, the reference librarian in the general information department of the St. Louis Public Library (T.S. Eliot's hometown) should know where the one crappy memorial to the best writer ever to come from Missouri is located.
Second of all, 94 degrees is entirely too hot for that Library even to be open. The safety index for the Free Library of Philadelphia says that if the temperature is over 80 degrees, and the sum of the temperature and relative humidity is 150 degrees (e.g., 80 F + 70% humidity), then the building must for public health reasons be closed.
Whether you were being hyperbolic in your assessment of the temperature or not, I think that Library should have been closed that day.
Of course, my third point has already been made: it is a sin of unthinkable omission that St. Louis has no real monument to T.S. Eliot.
The Schiller-Reedy-Twain homages only add insult to pre-existing injury.
Despite the negative results, I thank you for your persistence and hard work on my behalf. You know that I would do the same if I were in a distant city you had never been to that was the home of one of your literary obsessions.
Gratefully,
Tom McGlaughlin, Jr.
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