This book is remembered for a curious reason—namely because T.S. Eliot gave it credit for inspiring much of his famous poem “The Waste Land.” But From Ritual to Romance is much more than a source for modernist poetry. Weston will not only tell you how the bardic tradition of song as a repository for wisdom influenced literary culture, but shows how it actually survived into the modern age—albeit in hidden ways. The most intriguing passages here are the footnotes where Weston claims that she has firsthand experiences of secret societies—maybe she’s even a member—that preserved this aural tradition, although she is forbidden to share the details. Now, that is the kind of musical education you’re not going to get at Juilliard. I’ve devoted a huge amount of energy into penetrating into this knowledge base, and Weston is one of my most trustworthy guides—although what she leaves unsaid is perhaps the most important part of the book.
