The Idea of a Literary Review: T. S. Eliot and The Criterion

This chapter examines the history of T. S. Eliot's literary magazine The Criterion. It presents a reading of the journal in the light of its exchanges with The Adelphi and The Calendar and, slightly later, with the Cambridge quarterly Scrutiny. Examining a wealth of archival material and private correspondence has enabled the reconstruction of hitherto neglected aspects of the magazine — for instance, matters of finance and circulation, Eliot's interpersonal relations with key contributors and with the editors of rival periodicals — all of which helped to shape editorial policy and ultimately the distinctive identity of the magazine. The Criterion also provides crucial information about Eliot's gradual estrangement from experimental modernism.