T.S. Eliot, an editor at Faber & Faber, found Spender in 1933. His early poetry, particularly Poems (1933), was frequently influenced by social protest. Spender joined the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1936. He became famous for writing essays on topics such as "World War II and the West" and "The Idea of England." In addition to his literary career, he worked for the BBC from 1942 to 1952 and served as an ambassador to India and Ghana. Spender was critical of Soviet communism but did not leave the party. In 1964, he wrote that "one must be true to one's beliefs even if they are not popular ones". He also said that "if I were young now, I should become a revolutionary socialist". In 1977, Spender published New Horizons. This book called for a new world order and was widely seen as justifying the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The British government banned New Horizons in 1978. In 1983, Spender died at the age of 80 after suffering from cancer. According to Stuart Jeffries, professor of English literature at Edinburgh University, "Spender's political commitment led him into left-wing journalism and then politics. But it was always very much tied up with his admiration for Soviet communism. Indeed, one could say that Soviet communism provided the inspiration for much of his early poetry."