Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: America's Beloved Poet (World Writers)

Lukes, Bonnie L.

ISBN 10: 1931798079 ISBN 13: 9781931798075

Publisher: Morgan Reynolds Pub, 2002

Synopsis

A biography of one of the major American poets of the nineteenth century, whose works include "The Song of Hiawatha" and "The Village Blacksmith."

About this title

From Kirkus Reviews

Lukes conveys to a new generation that the poet of ``Hiawatha'' and ``Paul Revere's Ride'' was a cultural icon in his own time, and that while his longer verse may no longer be to popular taste, many of his images still resonate. Longfellow wanted a life of letters from a very early age, having his first poem published in the local newspaper in Portland, Maine, when he was 13. He studied at Bowdoin during its earliest years, and when he graduated, they offered him a teaching position for modern languages, which he had to go to Europe (for two years) to learn. Longfellow found solace and intellectual exercise in writing and translating all of his life. He loved his wives; both died tragically, one while young and the other in a household fire. Lukes has written a rich biography, using original sources for the sound of Longfellow's voice and the voices of his family, and their joys and travails make them seem very contemporary. Her writing is strong enough that this entry in the World Writers series can be read for pleasure, as well as for research. (b&w photos, notes, chronology, bibliography, index) (Biography. 10-14) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6^-12. This insightful addition to the World Writers series helps fill the lack of recent studies on Longfellow. From the very start, young Henry had pluck and diplomacy. Eager to avoid the family tradition of studying law, he secured a position as a language professor, having barely started college himself. Traveling through Europe to learn his subject, Longfellow met his hero Washington Irving, lodged with Charles Dickens, and returned to maintain a lifelong friendship with former classmate Nathaniel Hawthorne. Despite these high-profile relationships, Longfellow's personal life was overshadowed by frustrating spells of writer's block and the tragic deaths of both of his wives and an infant daughter. These personal stories are so fascinating, readers will hardly miss the limited focus on Longfellow's poetry. Although a bit top-heavy with quotations, the text often sparkles, thanks to Lukes' creative turn of a phrase. Likely to appeal to biography readers more than to literary researchers, the book will nonetheless be useful to the latter because of the extensive notes, a time line, and a bibliography. Roger Leslie

About this edition

• Publisher: Morgan Reynolds Pub
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 1931798079
• ISBN 13: 9781931798075
• Binding: Library Binding
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 128