The Western Canon

The Western Canon
Author :
Publisher : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages : 751
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780547546483
ISBN-13 : 0547546483
Rating : 4/5 (83 Downloads)

Synopsis The Western Canon by : Harold Bloom

The literary critic defends the importance of Western literature from Chaucer and Shakespeare to Kafka and Beckett in this acclaimed national bestseller. NOMINATED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD Harold Bloom's The Western Canon is more than a required reading list—it is a “heroically brave, formidably learned” defense of the great works of literature that comprise the traditional Western Canon. Infused with a love of learning, compelling in its arguments for a unifying written culture, it argues brilliantly against the politicization of literature and presents a guide to the essential writers of the western literary tradition (The New York Times Book Review). Placing William Shakespeare at the “center of the canon,” Bloom examines the literary contributions of Dante Alighieri, John Milton, Jane Austen, Emily Dickenson, Leo Tolstoy, Sigmund Freud, James Joyce, Pablo Neruda, and many others. Bloom's book, much-discussed and praised in publications as diverse as The Economist and Entertainment Weekly, offers a dazzling display of erudition and passion. “An impressive work…deeply, rightly passionate about the great books of the past.”—Michel Dirda, The Washington Post Book World

The American Canon: Literary Genius from Emerson to Pynchon

The American Canon: Literary Genius from Emerson to Pynchon
Author :
Publisher : National Geographic Books
Total Pages : 0
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781598536409
ISBN-13 : 1598536400
Rating : 4/5 (09 Downloads)

Synopsis The American Canon: Literary Genius from Emerson to Pynchon by : Harold Bloom

Our foremost literary critic on our most essential writers, from Emerson and Whitman to Hurston and Ellison, from Faulkner and O'Connor to Ursula K. LeGuin and Philip Roth. No critic has better understood the ways writers influence one another—how literary traditions are made—and no writer has helped readers understand this better, than Harold Bloom. Over the course of a remarkable sixty-year career, in such bestselling books as The Western Canon, Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, and How to Read and Why, Bloom brought enormous insight and infectious enthusiasm to the great writers of the Western tradition, from Shakespeare and Cervantes to the British Romantics and the Russian masters. Now, for the first time, comes a collection of his brilliant writings about the American tradition, the ultimate guide to our nation’s literature. Assembled with David Mikics (Slow Reading in a Hurried Age), this unprecedented collection gathers five decades’ worth of Bloom’s writings— much of it hard to find and long unavailable—including essays, occasional pieces, and introductions as well as excerpts from his books. It offers deep readings of 47 essential American writers, reflecting on the surprising ways they have influenced each other across more than two centuries. The story it tells, of American literature as a recurring artistic struggle for selfhood, speaks to the passion and power of the American spirit. All of the visionary American writers who have long preoccupied Bloom―Emerson and Whitman, Hawthorne and Melville, and Dickinson, Faulkner, Crane, Frost, Stevens, and Bishop―make their appearance in The American Canon, along with Hemingway, James, O’Connor, Ellison, Hurston, Le Guin, Ashbery and many others. Bloom’s passion for these classic writers is contagious, and he reminds readers how they have shaped our sense of who we are, and how they can summon us to be better versions of ourselves. Bloom, Mikics writes, “is still our most inspirational critic, still the man who can enlighten us by telling us to read as if our lives depended on it: Because, he insists, they do.” For readers who want to deepen their appreciation of American literature, there's no better place to start than The American Canon.

The White Man's Guide to White Male Writers of the Western Canon

The White Man's Guide to White Male Writers of the Western Canon
Author :
Publisher : HarperCollins
Total Pages : 205
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780062867889
ISBN-13 : 0062867881
Rating : 4/5 (89 Downloads)

Synopsis The White Man's Guide to White Male Writers of the Western Canon by : Dana Schwartz

How do you use ‘taraddidle’ in a sentence? Is it possible to make a Gin Ricky that’s also a metaphor for the American Dream? How can you tell your Faulkner from your Franzen if you haven’t actually read either? Allow me, the @GuyInYourMFA, to expound on the most important (aka white male) writers of western literature. You’ve probably seen me around, observing the masses, or defying the wind by hand-rolling a cigarette outside a local, fair-trade coffeeshop. I’ve actually read Infinite Jest 9 1/2 times. Care to discuss? From Shakespeare's greatest mystery (how could a working-class man without access to an MFA program be so prolific?) to the true meaning of Kafkaesque (you know you've made it when you have an adjective named for you), the pages herewith are at once profound and practical. Use my ingenious Venn diagram to test your knowledge of which Jonathan—Franzen, Lethem, or Safran Foer—hates Twitter and lives in Brooklyn. (Trick question: all 3!) Sneer at chick-lit and drink Mojitos like Hemingway (not like middle-aged divorcées!). So instead of politely nodding along next time you make an acquaintance at a housewarming party in Brooklyn, you can roll up your sleeves and get to work schooling them in character arcs and the experimental form of your next great American novel. Dazzle your friends with how well you understand post-modernism. You’ll be at a literary event asking a question “that’s really more of a comment” in no time.

Strindberg and the Western Canon

Strindberg and the Western Canon
Author :
Publisher : Jagiellonian University Press
Total Pages : 450
Release :
ISBN-10 : 8323347794
ISBN-13 : 9788323347798
Rating : 4/5 (94 Downloads)

Synopsis Strindberg and the Western Canon by : Jan Balbierz

During the whole of his writing career August Strindberg was a restless canon maker. This volume gathers contributions from renowned Strindberg scholars to discuss questions such as: How did Strindberg construct his predecessors and to which traditions did he link himself?

The Western Canon of Classic Literature

The Western Canon of Classic Literature
Author :
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Total Pages : 96
Release :
ISBN-10 : 1539435504
ISBN-13 : 9781539435501
Rating : 4/5 (04 Downloads)

Synopsis The Western Canon of Classic Literature by : Peter J. King

The word canon refers to a scholarly acceptance and definition of a body of (usually) literary works that comprise the 'school of thought' or fundamental contributory works in a particular field of literature. Examples would include the Eastern canon of literature, The Biblical Canon and The Western canon. This book is about The Western Canon of Classic Literature. It is mainly a listing and overview of the titles comprising the great collections of Western Literature. These collections include but are not limited to Encyclopedia Brittanica's great books of The Western World & The Syntopicon, The Harvard Classics, The Oxford World's Classics, The Penguin Classics and The Modern Library 100 Best Novels. This book is designed to be a state of the art, superb academic reference work and provide an overview of the topic and give the reader a structured knowledge to familiarize yourself with the topic at the most affordable price possible. The accuracy and knowledge is of an international viewpoint as the edited articles represent the inputs of many knowledgeable individuals and some of the most current knowledge on the topic, based on the date of publication.

The Anatomy of Influence

The Anatomy of Influence
Author :
Publisher : Yale University Press
Total Pages : 368
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780300167603
ISBN-13 : 0300167601
Rating : 4/5 (03 Downloads)

Synopsis The Anatomy of Influence by : Harold Bloom

In this, his most comprehensive and accessible study of influence, Bloom leads readers through the labyrinthine paths which link the writers and critics who have informed and inspired him for so many years.

Closing of the American Mind

Closing of the American Mind
Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Total Pages : 403
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9781439126264
ISBN-13 : 1439126267
Rating : 4/5 (64 Downloads)

Synopsis Closing of the American Mind by : Allan Bloom

The brilliant, controversial, bestselling critique of American culture that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times)—now featuring a new afterword by Andrew Ferguson in a twenty-fifth anniversary edition. In 1987, eminent political philosopher Allan Bloom published The Closing of the American Mind, an appraisal of contemporary America that “hits with the approximate force and effect of electroshock therapy” (The New York Times) and has not only been vindicated, but has also become more urgent today. In clear, spirited prose, Bloom argues that the social and political crises of contemporary America are part of a larger intellectual crisis: the result of a dangerous narrowing of curiosity and exploration by the university elites. Now, in this twenty-fifth anniversary edition, acclaimed author and journalist Andrew Ferguson contributes a new essay that describes why Bloom’s argument caused such a furor at publication and why our culture so deeply resists its truths today.

Toni Morrison's Beloved

Toni Morrison's Beloved
Author :
Publisher : Facts On File
Total Pages : 0
Release :
ISBN-10 : 1604131845
ISBN-13 : 9781604131840
Rating : 4/5 (45 Downloads)

Synopsis Toni Morrison's Beloved by : Harold Bloom

A collection of critical essays that examine Toni Morrison's novel "Beloved," with a chronology of the author's life, an overview of the novel, its plot, themes, characters, and literary impact, and an introduction by Harold Bloom.

How to Read and Why

How to Read and Why
Author :
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Total Pages : 292
Release :
ISBN-10 : 9780684859071
ISBN-13 : 0684859076
Rating : 4/5 (71 Downloads)

Synopsis How to Read and Why by : Harold Bloom

Bloom, the best-known literary critic of our time, shares his extensive knowledge of and profound joy in the works of a constellation of major writers, including Shakespeare, Cervantes, Austen, Dickinson, Melville, Wilde, and O'Connor in this eloquent invitation to readers to read and read well.