BY T. S. ELIOT, WITH MAJOR CONTRIBUTIONS BY CHRISTOPHER RICKS

We have recently celebrated the centenary of T. S. Eliot’s masterpiece, widely regarded as the most influential poem of the twentieth century. It is also my favorite poem, the one which instilled in me (and so many readers) a deep appreciation for poetry. As such, this centennial edition means a lot. We are sparing no expense in its production and are working again with towering critic Christopher Ricks. His involvement goes beyond a typical contribution, and will make this a truly groundbreaking edition. In short: I fully expect The Waste Land to be No Reply’s magnum opus to date.

The book is a large quarto, around 120 pages. The paper has been handmade specially for the edition by The Paper Foundation, and bears its own unique watermark. It has been printed by hand, using a manual Vandercook Universal I cylinder press. Unlike Heidelbergs and C&P presses which are automatic and which require little human involvement during the actual printing (only during the setup), the use of a Vandercook will mean that each page is truly printed with human hands. Each page will be held, time after time, by its makers. Likewise, the book will be hand-bound and housed in a handmade solander case. In short: Everything by hand – a truly handmade book.

We are working again with Christopher Ricks, who is history’s foremost reader and critic of Eliot. Christopher is also a long time fine and private press collector. He is well-aware of other editions of The Waste Land, and even received multiple offers to contribute to other centennial editions (both trade and fine). Still, he had decided to work exclusively with us. Given the magnitude of his contribution (see below), it feels too good to be true. But his participation does not come lightly. When I met with Christopher in 2021 for a Covid-safe dinner on his porch to discuss the edition, I proposed that it might be “Among the finest editions of the poem.” He said he would work with us on one condition: That we drop “Among the” from our thinking.

The production will make the edition an exceptionally beautiful one, but we are aiming a bit higher – for something of actual literary importance. The edition therefore consist of three parts.

First, the poem itself, set in large type, followed by T. S. Eliot’s own notes to the poem.

Second, an original scholarly contribution of eccentric interest and real importance. Christopher and his co-editor Jim McCue have reconstructed the “original draft” of The Waste Land. They have unwound the Gordian knot and created an editorial composite of all existing draft materials to give us the closest possible idea of what The Waste Land originally contained, before Ezra Pound, Vivien Eliot, and publishers had their way with it. Call it what you will – the first, the original, the raw, the unedited The Waste Land. (It even has a different name: He Do The Police In Different Voices.) This editorial composite is fifty percent longer than the published poem, and, for the very first time, includes four unpublished interlude poems astride the five familiar parts.

Third, a summary judgement in the form of a reflection. This is no ordinary essay. After a lifetime of scholarship and readership of The Waste Land, Christopher has penned a reflection which cannot be missed. The world will likely never again have a reader of Eliot to equal Ricks. His writings on Eliot span nearly seventy years, he is the editor of Eliot’s definite annotated works, and, indeed, he has been for decades the only living critic to whose criticism Eliot himself responded. Furthermore, he is simply a brilliant reader and writer. In his words, a scholar asks, “Did you know?” while a critic asks, “Did you notice?”There is no critic with a greater power of “noticing” than he. At ninety-one, Christopher has had a full lifetime to notice The Waste Land, its intricacies and hidden passageways. What he has to say about this most important poem on its centennial is not to be missed. While the promise of The Waste Land’s “original draft” is far flashier, it is actually this reflection which has more keenly interested the scholars and institutional collections which have reserved copies so far.

T. S. Eliot explicitly banned the illustration of his poems in his lifetime. He thought illustration forced a written text to be something which it is not – in essence, that it robbed the reader of their imaginative rights. Other editions have disregarded this prohibition (including Preludes from No Reply) but, for a centennial edition meant to pay homage to the author as much as to the work, we will abide by T. S. Eliot’s expressed wishes in every way. Thus, no illustrations. I hope you agree that this edition should be one worth reckoning with. Our philosophy is simple: A centennial edition should celebrate not only a hundred years of the work itself, but a hundred years of readership, its past, present, and future. In full knowledge of its esteemed fine press predecessors – the Mardersteig, Arion, and Thornwillow editions particularly come to mind – we have every intention to make this the definitive private press edition of The Waste Land.

That’s the good news. The bad news is that “Sparing no expense” ourselves necessarily means that we must ask our collectors to do the same. The full publication price will be $2,422. Yikes! However, early reservations can be made at $1,922 and for a $100 downpayment, any collector can reserve their copy and pay the remainder at their own pace, with absolutely no deadline.

EDITION NOTES

• The twenty-second edition from No Reply, 2021 – 2024.

• Limited to 127 copies, of which five are in presentation bindings.

• Signed by Christopher Ricks.

• Typeset in Joanna.

• Measuring 12 ¾ by 10 ¼ inches

• Printed by hand on specially handmade paper from the Paper Foundation using a Vandercook Universal I.

• Bound in quarter vellum with unique multi-layered decorated boards.

• Housed in a handmade solander case.

N. B. As this edition is still being made, some details may change.