Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Poems and Other Writings (Library of America)

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Poems and Other Writings (Library of America) | Henry Wadsworth Longfellow | McClatchy does it again

books:

Henry Wadsworth Lo...

	Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: Poems and Other Writings (Library of America) Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Library of America, 2000 - 825 pages average customer review:based on 6 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

One of the great American poets

Longfellow's conventional morality and straightforward manner of expression have long caused his work to be unfairly ignored by serious readers. But those who are willing to give him a try will be rewarded by masterful storytelling, resourceful treatment of American themes, a truly sympathetic imagination, and (perhaps most importantly for poetry lovers) constant metrical experimentation. Unlike, say, Tennyson, who arguably had a better ear, Longfellow was never really satisfied with blank verse and instead played with unusual (for the time) metrical forms. Many people today forget that Longfellow was a highly educated man -- a professor of comparative literature at Harvard and a speaker of numerous languages -- whose broad reading led him to unusual forms and themes.

For those who think of Longfellow as just a schlockmeister, I recommend starting with "The Cross of Snow" (his very private meditation on his second wife's violent death) and "The Slave's Dream." For those interested in great stories in verse, try the selections here from "Tales of a Wayside Inn" (yes, it's a darn shame that more was not included) and "Evangeline." For those interested in Americana, try "The Building of the Ship" and "The New England Tragedies" (the latter being verse dramas on religious persecution and the witchcraft hysteria in Massachusetts). And for those interested in formal experimentation, try "My Lost Youth" and "The Saga of King Olaf."

Like all Library of America editions, this is a beautifully printed book, with helpful notes and a chronology of the author's life. I just wish they had included more!

for more information click here

McClatchy does it again

This time he presents an edition of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's books that's every bit as timely and interesting as his own very 20th century poems.

McClatchy's own writing in every field is widely acclaimed, and in a way he is the Longfellow we deserve, with both poems of spiritual affirmation and the poetry of doubt, jostling side by side, uneasy in harness. Longfellow's book Tales of a Wayside Inn is given a dramatic reading here, for McClatchy selects not only the best of the Tales but also tries to find room for the body and the heart in all its different avatars. His excerpts from Michael Angelo are, as well, in tune with what we now know and feel about Michelangelo in the present time of the early 21st century, that he was as great a poet as he was a painter and sculptor, and probably a gay man to boot. Poems like Longfellow's HIAWATHA and EVANGELINE are sensitively edited to bring forward their multicultural and ecological interests. All in all, Longfellow may be the most forwardlooking of all the poets of 19th century USA, and that's a strong statement considering we are putting him ahead of (among others) Emerson, Poe, Dickinson, Whitman, Very, and Melville.

for more information click here

A revelation

My wife and I are enjoying this book immensely. We previously knew Longfellow only from extracts in anthologies.
It is nice to read all of Hiawatha. And much of the other material is new to us, especially the works about Michelangelo. His novel and table-talk are also pleasant surprises; we would have liked some of his non-fictional writing.
The notes are interesting, but it would have been helpful to indicate in the text where a note occurs. And some more material about Longfellow and his times would have been nice; there is a nice chronology. There is too much about the textual sources.
But the quibbles are minor. Longfellow is worth a revival and this book goes a long way.

for more information click here

Longfellow

A refresher course of my favorite poems all in one volume. I even discovered one of my favorite Christmas songs was actually a poem by Longfellow. I keep it on my coffee table

Too short.

The poetry and novella here are very enjoyable to read. It is smooth, well-written, melodious poetry, and one realizes why Longfellow was so loved in his own day. Longfellow, with others, such as Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost, is one of the great American poets. Unfortunately, Library of America chose to only publish a selection of his work. As before noted by another reviewer, "Tales of a Wayside Inn" is only partial, though the "Song of Hiawatha" is here complete (thankfully). This seems inexcusable, since Library of America found time and space for all of Poe, Whitman, Frost, and Stevens, not to mention minor poets like Emerson and Thoreau. Longfellow, as one of the major American poets, deserves better. So 5 stars for his poetry, but 3 stars for this edition of LoA.

for more information click here

reviews: page 1, 2

products you might be interested in

recommendations

classic poem collections from the masters of the poetry
Essential books for Politics, Economics, and Life
Great American Lit
My Favorite Poets