Four Quartets

First published in 1944, Eliot's four-part poem - Burnt North, East Coker, The Dry Salvages, Little Gidding - is one of the most remarkable works of all of 20th-century poetry. With its indelible launch into our awkward temporal perpetuity "Time present and time past/Are both perhaps present in time future," the poem is a long speculative event of the poetic consciousness that arouses thought and gives emotion a second sight in the face of time's dubious constrain. Only forty-three pages, published by itself in this sleek Faber & Faber paperback edition, it makes a perfect read for all seasons: train, beach, plane or cafe.