Harold Bloom interview for "The Education of Gore Vidal"

Interview Date: 01/28/2002

[@cheri238]

Harold Bloom was one of my favorite English professors at Yale University. I have listened to him being interviewed him many times and bought his books.There are more than twenty, which include "Shakespeare," "The Western Canon," "The Book of J," "Stories and poems for Children," How to Read and Why." I have read every novel he ever suggested. RIP 🙏 ❤️ Many before I even heard about him. Gore Vidal was one among many writers, essayists and one of my favorites.

[@botnik61]

Thanks for this interview. Big fan of Bloom and Vidal. Loved Burr and Lincoln and plan to read more of Gore’s political histories.

[@charlesedwardandrewlincoln8181]

This channel is amazing.

[@seanlawley293]

His comments on Shakespeare are always so powerful and moving.

[@davidjames9626]

Does anyone know whose work the sculpture is to the left of speaker ?

[@selwynr]

Possibly Lehmbruck?

[@JeffRebornNow]

I wonder if Bloom ever read "A Confederacy of Dunces"? It's just as good a satire (if not better) than Myra.

[@oakus8503]

38:58

[@sreehari_nair_rediff]

It's plain that Harold Bloom hasn't given Vidal a careful reading. The question, then, arises: why is Bloom so readily fawning of Vidal? My guess is that Bloom wanted to insure himself against Vidal's acid tongue and also make sure that Vidal, who was a considerable expert of the Greco-Roman tradition, wouldn't call Bloom out on his selective reading of that grand tradition. Bloom loved to cite terms like Agon, Vidal lived it.

[@seanlawley293]

They were both autodidacts. Rivalry at its finest.

[@ashcross]

@@seanlawley293 Bloom was a Yale professor, not an autodidact.

[@ashcross]

Bloom's reading was far from 'selective'. He read almost everything of note. Having said that, I agree with you that Vidal's novels are not really quite good enough for Bloom's 'canon' and in this interview he is being rather generous to Vidal. Not sure Bloom and Vidal ever had a discussion, let alone on film. What a thing that would have been!

[@seanlawley293]

Bloom was an autodidact well before his academic career. He began reading at the age of three, read out multiple libraries in the Bronx. Tell me, is that not autodidacticism?

[@seanlawley293]

You took the words right out of mouth. Far from selective.