Wolfson receives signed copy of T. S. Eliot’s The Waste Land

Wolfson has received a signed copy of T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, one of the most important English language poems of the twentieth century and a landmark of modernist poetry. A 1960 edition, signed by the author, the College’s copy was generously donated by Visiting Scholar Dr Yosef Wosk.

Wolfson’s Library has a number of rare and special books among its collections. These include noteworthy editions of ancient philosophical texts such as Plato’s Dialogues, Proclus’s commentaries on Plato’s Timaeus and Republic, and a composite commentary on Aristotle’s Nicomachaen Ethics. Wolfson is grateful to Dr Wosk for his generosity in augmenting its special book collections by donating this rare and special edition of Eliot’s work to the College.

Dr Wosk is a distinguished philanthropist, rabbi, teacher, and author. He has devoted his life to philanthropy, scholarship, writing, peace activism and travel, and in 2020 was made an Officer of the Order of Canada. He has also received the Order of British Columbia, the Freedom of the City of Vancouver (his hometown), the Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals, a Culture Beyond Borders Medal from the United Nations, and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Award for Community Service from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Educated at the University of British Columbia, Boston University, Yeshiva University and Harvard Divinity School, he has received Honorary Doctorates from Simon Fraser University and Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

In 2025, Dr Wosk has been a Visiting Scholar at Wolfson’s Oxford Centre for Life-Writing (OCLW) which, thanks to his generous endowment gift, has named its visiting scholarships programme in his honour.