Talk:Harold Bloom
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article is within the scope of WikiProject Biography. For more information, visit the project page. | ||
| ??? | This article has not yet received a rating on the Project's quality scale. Please rate the article and then leave a short summary here to explain the ratings and/or to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the article. [FAQ] | ||
I changed the paragraph concerning his judgments of recent american poets back to more or less the way I myself wrote it on September 28 - with a few names added. Crane, Frost, Pound, eliot, Williams and some of the others aren't really 'recent writers', Bloom does not like Pound or Williams, and I don't recall him singling out E.A. Robinson for any reason. - 66.190.242.110 December 7, 2003
[edit] Edit This Obviously Biased and Bloated Verbose Self-promotion
This whole article looks suspiciously like a blatent attempt ay self-promotion, or promotion by a close cohort. This guy is simply not important enough to warrent an article of this size, nor of the detail of biographic information. There are dozens of vastly more important writers, academics (and even critics) that have a fraction of the space and content devoted to them. The PhD title in the first paragraph is a dead give-away; these mediocre poseurs, desparate to canonise themselves amongst the legends of human endeavour always fall into an ego trap of their own construction such as this. This article reads like a verbose application letter - a self-congratulatiory and feverishly self-aggrandising prose version of a resume! I mean, look at the trivial things this pathetic little man has actually said during his "career" in a desperate attempt to attract attention to himself, or annoint other B-graders in a lme attempt to have "discovered" the next revolutionary genius.
Precis this article's bloated drivel down to a size and scope that is actually relevent to Blooms small importance, and without further hesitation!!! It is unrestrained self-promtional nonsense like this article which is causing Wikkipedia to be increasingly rubbished in many quaters, and will see the rise in closed-to-publisc, moderated, "expert administered" rivals, as is already beginning to occur.
Chop it down to an appropriate size, or I gladly will. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 210.50.248.119 (talk • contribs).
- Is that you, Ms. Woolf? I'm the person who most recently wrote and reorganized much of this page, and while I am a great admirer of Bloom, you'll need to supply some direct quotes from it before anyone agrees to your claims of NPOV... or whatever it is that you're claiming. Wikipedia works so well because people who care deeply about something, either positively or negatively, contribute the articles about those things. Rereading this, I don't see any instances of bias. Perhaps it appears this way to you because you merely like Bloom's ideas in the first place. It would be hard, in other words, to write an article about flowers without someone thinking they're pretty. Your entire premise, however, that Bloom is "not important" is entirely scurrilous (as you know), since has been cited as "the most eminent literary critic in the world" by a number of important people. --76.188.161.254 07:27, 24 November 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Robinson
In "Genius," p. 714, he does indeed name Robinson, along with Pound, Williams, Crane, Frost, Eliot, Stevens, Merrill, Ammons and a few more, as one of the "superb poets" in American literature of the last century. To me it seems more reasonable to name the poets of the century rather than naming those who are "recent", as "recent" will mean something quite different to different people reading the entry at different times. -- Damion
It should be fairly obvious from the names mentioned that 'recent' in this context refers roughly to those appeared in the post-WWII period (Penn got started earlier, but Bloom only regards his later work), which is the period in which the canon appears to be completely unsettled, and the period of Bloom's professional life. The only reasons to include this section at all are that the writers Bloom favors are, for the most part, unknown or barely known to the average person (Ammons, Merrill, McCarthy, Saramago, Geoffrey Hill, etc.), and that some of his choices are unusual or controversial. By contrast, the probably canonicity Eliot, Frost, Pound, Hart Crane, Faulkner, Auden and others who were established before the war is so commonly known that there's no particular signifigance to the fact that Bloom also believes in it. - 66.190.242.110 December 12, 2003
If by "recent" you mean post-WWII, you should state so in the entry; otherwise, how is anyone to know? -- Damion
I clicked on a link to find allegations about Bloom's sexual misconduct with a student. It seems odd to have such a link without any sort of response... unsigned comment from 165.106.221.130
- New comments on the bottom please, and please sign them, which you can do with four tildes (~). If there is a response from Bloom that you are aware of, please add it to the article. Gamaliel 20:47, 30 Jan 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Image?
Can we get a better image? I know he's not generally photogenic but it looks like he just witnessed a triple murder or something by that facial expression. --Tothebarricades 02:32, Jun 8, 2005 (UTC)
How about the one from the duskjacket of How to Read and Why with his smiling mug. Alas, I don't know the proper bureaucratic procedures to upload it myself. --24.131.209.132 21:43, 7 July 2006 (UTC)
I couldn't find any better place to insert this comment, but there is a serious omission in this account: Shakespeare! —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 67.83.158.68 (talk • contribs).
[edit] Contacting Bloom?
I am in London, involved with the literary legacy of a significant 'christian' Jungian psychologist [the small 'c' and the single inverted commas are deliberate - I am a rabbi, which is why I am involved] David Holt, whose unpublished Zurich thesis in the late 50's/early sixties was on Persona-Actor, with particulat reference to Falstaff and Prince Hal, focussing on the 'rejection' scene. I would like to get this to Harold Bloom. How, please? I certainly am not interested in forwarding an unsolicited manuscript but for many reasons think he would enjoy the cited material, if he is still active. Thanks Jeffrey Newman 07:34, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- You could try his PR office or Yale U. But it's probably impossible. He's a celebrity. --goethean ॐ 14:59, 20 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Sending an unsolicited manuscript might not be such a bad idea. I can remember hearing him say, in at least one interview, that he reads at least some of all the mail he receives. You might try first sending him an explanation. But I don't think it would be so impossible to get him on the telephone: he's still teaching, and supposedly (I've only ever heard it from him, in interviews) very available to his students. Andrew123 30 June 2005 01:56 (UTC)
[edit] Looking for the complete quote
On the article there is a quote (from the context I assume it is from the preface to the Yates book) of Bloom saying about the poets that [he] "cannot be cannot be Adam early in the morning. There have been too many Adams, and they have named everything." Such a wonderful quote, but I wonder if this is the complete quote? I am unable to find a proper copy of the Yates book, so I can't check myself, so if someone would possibly give the complete quote and the page number it would be great. With best regards. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 212.66.208.191 (talk • contribs).
[edit] Associated w/ "proteges" Kushner and Wolf?!
Someone needs to alter the stuff about Kushner being Bloom's protege at Yale. Kushner didn't go to Yale, and though he went to NYU he later (90s) spoke of being afraid to meet Bloom in person when someone set it up, which implies he never knew him. His work and Bloom's aren't particularly closely associated either.
And someone *really* needs to axe the remark that Bloom's work is associable with Naomi Wolf's. She was his student, sure, but as we know that didn't work out so good. I guess the comment about Paglia is valid enough. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 205.250.157.180 (talk • contribs).
[edit] Is he jewish?
In the article he says he is jewish, but in the bottom of the page there is not the "Jewish American" box. Why? Is he not jewish? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 200.184.167.20 (talk • contribs).
Bloom is outrageously Jewish. In a secular sort of way. --24.131.209.132 01:38, 26 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Professional Affiliations & Employment
For an undetermined period of time, this article asserted that Harold Bloom, literary critic, is currently a "Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Professor in English and American Literature at New York University." This is not the case. Bloom currently does not hold this endowed professorship. He was employed by NYU as a professor of English some years ago; however, this relationship terminated in a very conclusive manner. Again, Bloom currently does not hold this endowed professorship, nor does he hold any other professorship, endowed or unendowed, in NYU English. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by NYUballer (talk • contribs).
Though some websites of NYU's College of Arts and Science do list Bloom as an employee, this is more of technicality than a reality. As stated above, Bloom maintains no substansive relationship as a scholar, teacher, researcher, or academic with NYU's English Dept. Though he most likely maintains a residence somewhere in NYC, he is a faculty member of NYU only insofar as a web page (which may be out of date) states this. For viewers of his entry in Wikipedia (99% of which are not clued into the vagaries and politics of the highest echelons of academia), this point is crucial. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by NYUballer (talk • contribs).
- That may well be the case, but Wikipedia cannot make unsourced claims. The claim that HB is a visiting prof at NYU is sourced, so it is acceptable. Currently, your claim does not, and unless that changes, your claim will therefore be deleted. — goethean ॐ 19:11, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
Bloom has said, and I think in a few interviews linked at the bottom of the article, that he's quit NYU. --24.131.209.132 20:56, 8 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] NYU professorship
As far as New York University's College of Arts and Science roster is concerned, Harold Bloom still, indeed, holds the position of Berg Professor of English and American Literature. This is a position of a visiting professor. Though it is not as concrete as the one at Yale, this article still must include this information. I would like to see evidence for what someone, or some people, have otherwise stated. I am sure that NYU keeps up-to-date the list of individuals who hold positions there. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.113.120.168 (talk • contribs).
[edit] Shirazi critique
I deleted the link to Shirazi's critique of Bloom because whether or not you like Bloom, I'd say it's fair to say that Shirazi is a bad writer. That critique is messy, uncivil, and uninsightful. Someone else reposted it. Can it be deleted again? I wouldn't mind a critique of him, even a negative one, if it were well-written.
[edit] Behavior as a Professor
Perhaps it is worth mentioning that Bloom has somewhat of a personal reputation on the Yale campus as an almost flirtatious man, referring to both male and female students as "my dear" and "my child". Additionally he has been known to make sexual advances on some female students, as can be seen in the case of Naomi Wolf, recalled with the stories of other female students in her article "The Silent Treatment." —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.146.167.198 (talk • contribs).
- Any such claim wuold have to be sourced to a media document. — goethean ॐ 19:12, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
-
- "The Silent Treatment" —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Gamaliel (talk • contribs).
-
-
- We have to cover his career of sexual harassment as well. http://www.theawarenesscenter.org/haroldbloom.html Skinnyweed 21:48, 29 August 2006 (UTC)
-
-
-
-
- By all means, if you feel it is notable, add in a few sentences about the allegations. Just make sure that it is sourced and accurately reflects the reality of the allegations (i.e., let's not exaggerate it into a "career of sexual harassment"). Levi P. 22:41, 31 August 2006 (UTC)
-
-
[edit] Shakespeare.
The bard isn't mentioned once in the text of the article. Just FYI. I might take it upon myself to update this in the next week. --24.131.209.132 01:40, 26 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Revision
I have rearranged, added parts, and revised the organization of the article, particularly the new section about Shakespeare and a little more about The Western Canon and Bloom's criticisms of the "School of Resentment." I've also learned never to edit an entire article by first pasting it into Word... There are probably some errors of italics, etc, left in the article, as I had to redo it all. Possibly, in the future I'd like to add more about Bloom's own influences, like Johnson, Emerson, Nietzsche, and Freud, the last two of whom I find it strange to be still unincluded.
Let any feedback be added here.
--24.131.209.132 20:54, 8 October 2006 (UTC)
