 |
|
     |
|
|
|
Another sign that Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is being noticed again is the publication of Christoph Irmscher's Longfellow Redux, reviewed in the January 5 TLS. Several things about Longfellow are striking: First, what Irmscher calls his "relentless availability" to readers, not only in the "undemanding nature of his published work" but also in his willingness to receive strangers to his home and his diliegence in answering mail; second, his unsentimental acceptance of the transitory character of art, including his own poetry; finally, Longfellow's role in introducing European literature to America - the first to teach a class on Faust at an American university, translator of the Divine Comedy, editor of anthologies of world poetry.
Longfellow is the most parodied of poets, and the TLS reviewer includes this charming quotation from Lewis Carroll's parody of Hiawatha:
From his should Hiawatha
Took the camera of rosewood,
Made of sliding, folding rosewood;
Neatly put it all together.
In its case it lay compactly,
Folded into nearly nothing. . . .
posted by Peter J. Leithart on Tuesday, February 06, 2007 at 11:27 AM
Permission is given to use material on this site, provided the source is cited, blog entries are republished in full, and the author is notified in advance.
1 & 2 Kings
Brazos Theological Commentary
The Promise Of His Appearing: An Exposition Of Second Peter
A Great Mystery: Fourteen Wedding Sermons
Deep Comedy: Trinity, Tragedy, And Hope In Western Literature
Miniatures & Morals: The Christian Novels of Jane Austen
The Priesthood of the Plebs: A Theology of Baptism
A Son To Me: An Exposition of 1 & 2 Samuel
From Silence to Song: The Davidic Liturgical Revolution
Ascent to Love: A Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
Blessed Are the Hungry: Meditations on the Lord's Supper
A House For My Name: A Survey of the Old Testament
Heroes of the City of Man: A Christian Guide to Select Ancient Literature
Brightest Heaven of Invention: A Christian Guide To Six Shakespeare Plays
Wise Words: Family Stories That Bring the Proverbs to Life
The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church
