No American writer of the nineteenth century was more universally
enjoyed and admired than Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. His works were
extraordinary bestsellers for their era, achieving fame both here
and abroad. Now, for the first time in over twenty-five years, The
Library of America offers a full-scale literary portrait of
America's greatest popular poet. Here are the poems that created an
American mythology: Evangeline in the forest primeval, Hiawatha by
the shores of Gitche Gumee, the midnight ride of Paul Revere, the
wreck of the Hesperus, the village blacksmith under the spreading
chestnut tree, the strange courtship of Miles Standish, the maiden
Priscilla and the hesitant John Alden; verses like "A Psalm of
Life" and "The Children's Hour," whose phrases and characters have
become part of the culture. Here as well, along with the public
antislavery poems, are the sparer, darker lyrics-"The Fire of
Drift-Wood," "Mezzo Cammin," "Snow-Flakes," and many others-that
show a more austere aspect of Longfellow's poetic gift. Erudite and
fluent in many languages, Longfellow was endlessly fascinated with
the byways of history and the curiosities of legend. As a verse
storyteller he had no peer, whether in the great book-length
narratives such as Evangeline and The Song of Hiawatha (both
included in full) or the stories collected in Tales of a Wayside
Inn (reprinted here in a generous selection). His many poems on
literary themes, such as his moving homages to Dante and Chaucer,
his verse translations from Lope de Vega, Heinrich Heine, and
Michelangelo, and his ambitious verse dramas, notably The New
England Tragedies (also complete), are remarkable in their range
and ambition. As a special feature, this volume restores to print
Longfellow's novel Kavanagh, a study of small-town life and
literary ambition that was praised by Emerson as an important
contribution to the development of American fiction. A selection of
essays rounds out of the volume and provides testimony of
Longfellow's concern with creating an American national literature.
LIBRARY OF AMERICA is an independent nonprofit cultural
organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation's literary
heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America's
best and most significant writing. The Library of America series
includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that
average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings,
and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that
will last for centuries.
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