It is with sadness and a sense of loss that I note the passing of literary critic Harold Bloom at the age of 89. Bloom was a controversial figure, arrogant, full of himself, given to proclamations from on high about the value of poetry and works of genius by the finest of our writers. An unabashed bardolator, a worshipper of Shakespeare, he wrote of the poet who in his estimation surpasses all others:

The  more one reads and ponders the plays of Shakespeare, the more one realizes that the accurate stance toward them is one of awe. How he was possible, I cannot know, and after two decades of teaching little else, I find the enigma insoluble…. The plays remain the outward limit of human achievement: aesthetically, cognitively, in certain ways morally, even spiritually. They abide beyond the end of the mind's reach; we cannot catch up to them. Shakespeare will go on explaining us, in part because he invented us… (Shakespeare: The Invention of the Human, pub. 1998).

Bloom fell out of fashion with the rise of  assorted schools of postmodernist criticism, multicultural studies, feminist and gender critiques, in his words, the "incredible absurdity called cultural studies" that he wrapped up under the rubric "the school of resentment." He cared for them no more than they for him.

Bloom's love of literature and of those who produced the best of it shines through in everything he wrote and is contagious. I read and reread him with a pleasure akin to the pleasure that comes with reading and rereading the poets who mean most to me.

A more expansive treatment of my encounter with Harold Bloom might make for a good project. Perhaps more anon.

• Hillel Italie, Harold Bloom, author of 'Anxiety of Influence,' dies at 89, AP, October 14, 2019
• Neda Ulaby, Harold Bloom, A Rare Best-Selling Literary Critic, Dies At 89, NPR Morning Edition, October 15, 2019

Ranking Donald Trump's most disgraceful moments or even toting them up in haphazard fashion presents a formidable challenge. Where to begin? What criteria of infamy are to be used?

However one might go about it, surely the betrayal of the Kurds merits a prominent place. I am surprised that the dismal specter of Neville Chamberlain at Munich has not been raised regularly in the context of Trump's green light for Reccip Tayyip Erdoğan's assault on erstwhile allies.

You don’t turn your back on an ally that lost 11,000 troops fighting against terrorism through a tweet and a discussion with [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan.  (Bernie Sanders, quoted in Rishika Dugyala, Bernie Sanders: 'The difference between Trump and me is he lies,' Politico, October 13, 2019)

Aha, data to back up my references to the mythical center. Lee Drutman at FiveThirtyEight looks at data showing that while many Americans identify themselves as moderate or independent, they fall into ideologically diverse groups, "so there is no simple policy solution that will appeal to all of them."

As they must with independents, any pundit who talks about 'moderates' as a key voting bloc begs that second follow-up question: Which moderates? (The Moderate Middle Is a Myth, FiveThirtyEight, September 24, 2019.)

I refer you to recent blog posts for further commentary on the fine mess we are in.

Thanks for checking in on my little portable bohemia. I hope my scribbles prove to be of occasional interest, thought provoking, possibly amusing, and maybe, in a best-case scenario, in some sense pleasurable reading.

Keep the faith.

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