Jayme Stayer

Jayme Stayer is a Professor of English at Loyola University Chicago, affiliated with the Catholic Studies Program. His expertise spans 20th-century literature, modernism, and the intersection of music and poetry. He holds a BA from the University of Notre Dame, MA/PhD from the University of Toledo, and an MDiv from Boston College.

Stayer’s research focuses on T.S. Eliot, including his acclaimed book Becoming T.S. Eliot and co-editing The Complete Prose of T.S. Eliot, which earned the MLA Prize for a Scholarly Edition (2019). He emphasizes archival research, rhetoric, and biographical criticism, exploring how biography and ethics shape literary judgment. His work bridges textual analysis and spiritual/affective dimensions of writing.

• Awards: Sujack Family Award (2022), T.S. Eliot Foundation Grant (2022), Hodson Trust funding (2016).
• Positions: President, International T.S. Eliot Society; Visiting Fellow, Oxford University (2022-23); Francis C. Wade Chair, Marquette University (2018).

Stayer’s grants include funding for archival work in London and collaborations on Eliot’s juvenilia. His teaching emphasizes rhetorical analysis and the unsayable in music/poetry. He advocates for nuanced biographical criticism in ethical literary judgments.