Professor Harold Bloom (1930-2019) made his second and final appearance on the program 25 years ago. Bloom has been called "probably the most famous literary critic in the English-speaking world" (Wikipedia).
Bloom taught at Yale for 65 years. He gave a lecture to his final class just four days before his death in 2019. The author of over fifty books, Harold never retired. He was once quoted as saying they would have to remove him from the classroom "in a body bag."
It was a daunting challenge to interview him. What a mind he had. He was often saying things that offended people. The swirl of controversy which surrounded him was a constant.
Oh, how I loved conversing with him. His passion for language and literature was unmatched. Fortunately, I had interviewed him before and during our last conversation I knew mostly what to expect.
A Book Nook Bonus:
At the end of this interview we had a few extra minutes so I shared an essay from Shuly Cawood's new collection of flash non-fiction, What the Fortune Teller Would Have Said.
The Book Nook on WYSO is presented by the Greene County Public Library with additional support from Washington-Centerville Public Library, Clark County Public Library, Dayton Metro Library, Wright Memorial Public Library, and Tipp City Public.
