The Art of Reading Poetry

Recommended reading:

The Art of Reading Poetry
By Harold Bloom
Price: $9.95
On Sale: 3/1/2005
Formats: Trade PB Hardcover Trade PB

From the publisher: A notable feature of Harold Bloom's poetry anthology The Best Poems English Language is his lengthy introductory essay, here reprinted as a separate book. For the first time Bloom gives his readers an elegant guide to reading poetry––a master critic's distillation of a lifetime of teaching and criticism. He tackles such subjects as poetic voice, the nature of metaphor and allusion, and the nature of poetic value itself. Bloom writes "the work of great poetry is to aid us to become free artists of ourselves." Includes a recommended reading list of poems.

Hear Harold Bloom reading closely "Parts of a World" by Wallace Stevens. Bloom's lecture was recorded at Yale and is available via podcast. Go now.

An article from the September 25, 1994 issue of The New York Times serves nicely as an introduction to Harold Bloom and his work as a literary critic. Go now.

If you're wondering "Who is Harold Bloom and why is this blog all about him?" please take a moment and enjoy reading the Wikipedia entry regarding Harold Bloom. Go now. The world will never be the same again.



-- "It is our goal to appreciate and improve our talents, to share our own work and to communicate the joys of poetry with others. Everyone's poetry is valued." River Junction Poets Mission Statement