Inspiring Friendships

When reading "The Waste Land" by T.S. Eliot this week, I took notice that he dedicated the poem to Ezra Pound. I remembered enjoying Ezra Pound's poetry in high school, so I searched a bit on Google to find out about their relationship to one another. I discovered that Eliot and Pound were in fact friends, and that Pound had also edited "The Waste Land" - thus the dedication.

I have seen this "Fellowship of the Pen" situation before in Romantic literature, as with Wordsworth, Coleridge, Lamb, and Shelley. Is it coincidence that the great minds of poetry are usually friends with one another? Does their friendship contribute to their brilliance? I admit that if I ever met someone who enjoyed the same genres and beliefs as I cherish, if we were on the same intellectual level and writing proficiency, wouldn't we inspire each other and help in the revising of each other's work? I said "Fellowship of the Pen" in jest, but it seems evermore appropriate - just as the Fellowship of the Ring proved that the greatest tasks cannot be completed alone, the "Fellowship of the Pen" proves that the greatest works of literature are often inspired in friendly criticism.

Now I may have to go search for a modern day Fellowship...