Poetry - Scott J. Pearson’s Book Review

The Canterbury Tales: A New Unabridged Translation

By Scott J. Pearson | September 19, 2019October 11, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales is a classic that most high schoolers read excerpts from in high school. Burton Raffel here offers a new, full-length translation. The translation mostly succeeds (at least in oral format) as it conveys the sense of the work fairly well. While reading, it struck me how essentially medieval Chaucer’s setting is. While he is often talked about as one standing at the cusp of an enlightened England, his roots are thoroughly planted…

Poetry

Review: The Song of Hiawatha

By Scott J. Pearson | April 24, 2019May 28, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow My rating: 5 of 5 stars This book, spanning almost 200 pages, is one large poem. It is divided into chapters and memorializes myths from Native American tribes in mid-western North America. It is entertaining and, like much of Longfellow’s poetry, highlights the unique nature of the United States. It portrays America as a land overflowing with natural resources and with a history that is also deep…

History Poetry

Review: Poems on Slavery.

By Scott J. Pearson | April 2, 2019May 28, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Poems on Slavery. by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow My rating: 4 of 5 stars This collection, published in 1842, vividly describes the predicament of slavery. It makes a case of natural philosophy of why slavery is immoral. Works like Longfellow’s began to sway the northern U.S. towards the the emancipation of slaves and the abolition of slavery (through the bloody carnage of the Civil War, Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation, and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution). What…

Poetry

Review: Favorite Poems

By Scott J. Pearson | March 29, 2019May 28, 2019 by Scott J. Pearson

Favorite Poems by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow My rating: 4 of 5 stars I picked up this collection of Longfellow’s poetry because I SHOULD know more about one of America’s all-time greatest poets. I write poetry; I love dissecting poetry; I SHOULD know more about Longfellow. While reading, I came to know his clear and entertaining style. I came to appreciate how he can “spin yarn” (tell stories) effectively and efficiently. Whether he is writing in…