Harold Bloom:
Shakespeare and Genius
Event Date: March 25, 2003
Harold Bloom, widely recognized as America's leading
literary critic, discussed Shakespeare and Genius
at the Library of Congress. The event was
sponsored by the John W. Kluge Center and the
Office of Scholarly Programs.
Bloom based his presentation on three of his
recently published books: Hamlet: Poem Unlimited
(Riverhead Books, 2003), Shakespeare: The Invention
of the Human (Riverhead Books, 1998), and
Genius: A Mosaic of One Hundred Exemplary
Creative Minds (Warner Books, 2002).
Bloom is Sterling Professor of Humanities at
Yale University and Berg Professor of English at
New York University. The winner of a
MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1985 and an
American Academy of Arts and Letters Gold Medal for
Criticism in 1999, he is the author of more than 20 books.
He has edited nearly 500 additional works, most of them
in the Chelsea House series of literary criticism.
Established in 2000 through a $60 million
endowment from John W. Kluge, the Kluge
Center at the Library of Congress hosts qualified
scholars conducting research in its
comprehensive collections for a period of
up to one year. The center furnishes work and
discussion space for the Kluge Chair
holders, other established chairs,
distinguished visiting scholars, Kluge
postdoctoral fellows, and for
postdoctoral fellows supported by
other private foundation gifts.
John W. Kluge Center