"the waste land" is a poem by t.s. eliot. it was first published in 1922. after it had been printed in london in "the criterion", it was reprinted in new york in "the dial". then it was published in the form of a book. the poem is dedicated to ezra pound, whom t.s. eliot regarded as his friend and teacher of poetry. ezra pound was the first reader of the poem. he helped eliot to make it shorter and better.