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A labor of love: Sr. Barbara Sudol explores Mystical Elements in the Poetry

Sr. Barbara Sudol loves prayer, poetry, English literature, American literature, the writings of T.S. Eliot and the spirituality of the CSFNs, not necessarily in that order. And she has just published two books to prove it:

Mystical Elements in the Poetry of T.S. Eliot, based on her doctoral dissertation, and

Midlife Magnificat and Thereafter, based on her thoughts on religious life.

Given that Eliot’s popularity in American classrooms has ebbed and flowed over the decades, Nazareth Connections asked Sr. Barbara why Eliot remains important for the modern American person of faith.

For an American person, or any other person for that matter, Eliot’s mysticism is important. Eliot was an Anglican after his conversion in 1927, but he studied John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Victor of St. Hugo and eastern mystics, and he included strains of their philosophy in his poetry. No matter what their religion, people can appreciate the mysticism that raises their consciousness to new levels. With Eliot, not only do you get a higher consciousness of the Absolute, but also beautiful poetry in tandem.

What drew Sr. Barbara to Eliot?

I was drawn to the esoteric side of Eliot’s works and at first, wondered how I could understand and appreciate what I was studying…I wanted to know the meaning behind the poetry. . . . I love poetry, and I love prayer, so I decided to combine the two in a meaningful way. The chair of the English Department at St. John’s University, Dr. Stephen Sicari, agreed to be my dissertation director as well as my mentor. He is a James Joyce scholar, and very proficient in 20th century Modernist Literature.

Tell us about Eliot’s mysticism.

His was not the mysticism of Frances Siedliska, our foundress, who possessed apophatic mysticism, which is an unsought, unconditional gift of God’s grace, given to whomever He wills. [Eliot’s mysticism was kataphatic; he found God in many places such as in nature, Sr. Barbara notes.] In my book, trace both types of mysticism through the writings of Carl Jung, Evelyn Underhill and William James, as well as significant others who have made the study of mysticism a life’s work. Then I applied that study to selected Eliot poems from 1909 to 1942. I would say that Eliot’s vision of God and Church, once he was converted, was true, deep and unequivocal. I believe he had mystical moments where he was taken outside of himself, especially as he describes one such incident in “Four Quartets,” when he was walking in England in a garden called Burnt Norton in September 1934.

Do you see a resurgence of interest in Eliot in high school English classes?

I think some of Eliot’s poems and plays can be appreciated by both high school and college students if they are taught meaningfully. However, like good wine (so they tell me!), Eliot is best appreciated when read as one gets older. I read The Waste Land during my undergraduate years…and I appreciated it then. However, when I studied it for my doctorate, ...the poem held out a great many new meanings for me. I’m sure that if I teach it, it will again bring new discoveries.

Cutline

Author, author!

Sr. Barbara Sudol’s photo from the jacket of one of her two new books.

1st sidebar:

Thomas Stearns Eliot: 1888 – 1965

Nobel-Prize-winning 20th-century American/English playwright, poet, author. One of his best known works is Murder in the Cathedral (1936), a play about the12th-century assassination of St. Thomas à Becket in Canterbury Cathedral, later made into a movie with Richard Burton (Becket) and Peter O’Toole (King Henry). His volume of children’s poetry, Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, was adapted into the Broadway musical Cats. Eliot’s The Waste Land is considered by many the most important poem of the century. Its famous opening line is: “April is the cruelest month.” Another familiar line comes at the close of The Hollow Men: “This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang, but a whimper.”

2nd sidebar:

Mystical Elements in the Poetry of T.S. Eliot

ISBN 978-3-639-077254 based on her doctoral dissertation.

Sr. Barbara’s second book is Midlife Magnificat and Thereafter, ISBN 978-3-639-08465, based on her thoughts on religious life.

Both books are generally available through bookstores, Amazon.com and other web booksellers.

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