Written by John Piersol, November 2009.
- Unlike with writers such as Fitzgerald and Hemingway, there is no convincing biographical evidence that Salinger was directly influenced by Eliot’s work. There are some overt references to Eliot, however, notably in “Franny” and “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” but on the surface these amount to little more than brief allusions.
- “I absolutely adore your letter especially the part about Eliot. I think I’m beginning to look down on all poets except Sappho” (Franny and Zooey 4-5).
- “‘Ah Sharon Lipschutz,” said the young man. ‘How that name comes up. Mixing memory with desire’” (Nine Stories 13).
April is the cruelest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.
T. S. Eliot – “The Waste Land”
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