Harold Bloom on HP (semi-OT)

[Jim Ferer]

No: HPFGUIDX 11294

Charmian said:
> Where do you get "envious" from? Why does this show him to be a 
snob? 
> It's just a description of his career. Actually, that Bloom was even 
> willing to be this outspoken actually shows him to be out of step 
> with the current academy. 

Her popularity likely has something to do with his vehemence, I'd 
guess.  It comes across as sour grapes, to be sure.


> Although I disagree with his stance on Harry Potter and whether one 
> should read him, I don't think we need to villify him for it, or for 
> being a literary theorist. 

I don't think what I said rose to the level of vilification, at all. 


> I don't need Bloom's approval to read 
> Harry Potter, though I respect his work. In fact, it's pretty 
> populist for a critic to even *care* about what the public is 
> reading. 

But doesn't that demonstrate how intensely narcissistic the literary 
process has become?  They are sure of their superiority and their 
elite status, based on their own insular standards.  Their writing is 
impenetrable and completely tied up in process. None of them believe 
in telling a story that reaches people or informs them. They're 
righting for each other, which is fine; I am pleased to leave them to 
it in peace. They are irrelevant. I mourn for the trees.


> I don't see Bloom as part of an organized backlash....I think some 
> backlash is even healthy. Some of the hype is kind of obnoxious. I 
> have mixed feelings about how HP has become a marketing juggernaut, 
> though I'm glad that Rowling is now rich. For me, it's all about the 
> books. 

Agreed. There is a backlash against HP, but he's not part of it. And 
yes, the marketing hype is obnoxious. It is indeed all about the 
books.