Reviews for Bloom's Literary Themes: Exploration and Colonization

The average rating for Bloom's Literary Themes: Exploration and Colonization based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-11-16 00:00:00 Raven Nanie Interesting parallel biography of Lincoln and Whitman. They don't actually meet, but influence each other. I'm more into history than poetry, and there is some discussion of Whitman's poetry and some passages from his poems. Add a star if you like both history and poetry, and then add another star if you like Whitman's poetry in particular.

Review # 2 was written on 2016-07-07 00:00:00 James Carlson Much to my regret, this book felt rather unsatisfying. It tries to be a dual biography of Lincoln and Whitman, president and poet, and meanwhile connecting the two lives. Its subtitle is "parallel lives in Washington," and right out of the gate it missed the mark for me. Lincoln, we learn, had a copy of Whitman's Leaves of Grass in the office, and often read in it. Epstein then suggests that Whitman inspired some of Lincoln's writing, which he tries to substantiate with unconvincing quotations. The Civil War brought both men to Washington, DC, where they did not actually meet, but they glanced at one another when Whitman stood on a corner as Lincoln's barouche passed on its way from the White House to the Soldier's Home, north of the city. Their separate lives are elaborated on in alternate chapters. The epilogue, then, is about a speech Whitman held about Lincoln, in April of 1887, on the 22nd anniversary of the assassination. It was moving, Epstein writes, and the crowd was filled with well-known authors, general William Tecumseh Sherman, and John Hay. All in all, this was an odd volume, for it was neither fully about "lives in Washington," nor about Whitman or Lincoln. It was too little of too much to me.