James Baldwin (Mod Crit Views) (Bloom's Modern Critical Views) by William Golding

Bloom's Modern Critical Views

by Harold Bloom

Having true international appeal, James Baldwin was as well known in Istanbul and Paris as he was in Harlem. His reputation was made on incendiary and eloquent essays written and published to mass acclaim in the late 1950s and early 1960s as well as a trio of early novels dealing with racism, sexuality, violence, and religion. Among his lauded works are "Go Tell It on the Mountain", "Notes of a Native Son", and the controversial "Giovanni's Room." Students will benefit from this updated volume from the Bloom's "Modern Critical Views" series; it provides an academic yet accessible overview of this boundary-breaking writer that is ideal for research papers.

Genres: Literary Criticism

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Harold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale University. In 2017, Bloom was called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world." After publishing his first book in 1959, Bloom wrote more than 50 books, including over 40 books of literary criticism, several books discussing religion, and one novel. He edited hundreds of anthologies concerning numerous literary and philosophical figures for the Chelsea House publishing firm. Bloom's books have been translated into more than 40 languages. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1995.
Bloom was a defender of the traditional Western canon at a time when literature departments were focusing on what he derided as the "school of resentment" (multiculturalists, feminists, Marxists, and others). He was educated at Yale University, the University of Cambridge, and Cornell University.

Reviews

[Reba · Rating 3 out of 5]

2021 was my "Year of Baldwin", so after taking a little bit of a break, I thought I'd read some literary criticism. And who better to start with than Bloom? I am struggling a bit with this entry. It's not quite what I was looking for. While I do appreciate any and all essays and information about Baldwin, I thought this would have some more in-depth criticism. It kind of glosses over a lot of the deeper criticism, mostly by mentioning it, and them moving on. In particular, I am thinking of the topic of women in Baldwin's work, and a focus on his later novels. There was literally a line in this essay that said, " Baldwin's sixth and longest novel, Just Above My Head, has, like the novel before it, yielded little study." Um, yeah, no kidding. Instead of just mentioning that, can we dig in a little?? But no, we can't. At least not in this work. Perhaps that is my own fault for not seeking out straight up literary criticism rather than this literary biography. However, like I said before, I do appreciate any and all knowledge I can gain, so I'm not really mad at this book. It's just not exactly what I expected.

[Vivian Valvano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good essays on Baldwin's major works.