" Up and down the country today, it is still a fairly frequent occurrence to see children playing in feathered headdresses, waving their plastic tomahawks or their unsmokeable pipes of peace..... . Why does almost every 12 year old child today know almost as much about the Sioux Indians as be does about the original inbabitants of our own country?..."

In 1850, the answer would have been, "From reading James Fenemore Cooper!"

Cooper's novels, though not corresponding to historical truth, fed the voracious appetites of readers for whom the Romantic Movement in European and American Literature had already idealized the frontiersman and ennoblized bis Indian Brother. The Publication, in 1855, of Longfellow's 'Song Of Hiawatha', based on the traditions of Indians living on the shores of the Great Lakes, was timely.
In this long poem, the first work of his retirement from University Life, Longfellow created an Indian counterpart to the European Hero-sagas that had first fascinated him during his earlier study tours of the Continent. Heavily influenced by German and Scandinavian poets, he modelled his poem on the Finnish collection, 'Kalevala', and would not have envisaged that his epic would become one of those pieces of adult literature that children take, from time to time, as their own.

"..Children who are profoundly sympathetic to the affairs of Nature and quite averse to the affairs of economists, must necessarily give their hearts to the Indians and adopt them completely into their literature.."
`Hiawatha's Childhood', the section of the saga deemed most appropriate for children, has appeared in countless anthologies and readers. John Drinkwater once described Longfellow's ability as an 'awakener of poetry in the young' in a selection of mixed metaphors Longfellow would never have countenanced:

".. He has been the genial and inspiring doorkeeper of the temple. His easy and satisfying rhythm, his rich yet simple suggestion of things venerable and picturesque and a certain unction in all he wrote, combine to make his works the very tuckshop of poetry for young readers..."

Now, to that smorgasbord, is added another 'Hiawatha's Childhood', this version a Greenaway Medal winner, (1984). Published by Faber and Faber, it is presented in picture-story book form, illustrated by Errol Le Cain, a Hong Kong expatriot resident in Britain but gaining international accreditation. Not for Le Cain the lightweight illustrations prevalent in Reading Scheme Primers; not for Faber the 'translation' for kiddies, the talking down or compromise or structured vocabulary. Instead, Longfellow's original, unadulterated, alliterative verses are presented in sizeable slabs of 3mm. print, attractively yet firmly bordered off from the pictures so that young readers can concentrate on the one or the other. The artwork would appear to have borrowed from Middle Age manuscript illumination, if that artform can be imagined executed in 'Red Indian' style. Pages are richly edged and embellished in intricate earth-coloured motifs ever suggestive of the underlying, ancient culture.

This Hiawatha is not your average 'Noble Savage'. Presented first as a swaddled, diminutive infant dwarfed by the magnitude of fir-forest and mountain, he grows, both in stature and wisdom as the book progresses, conquering his own Wild Things, until, at the end he rides the reindeer under the satisfied, benevolent smile of Nokomis, she as weatherbeaten as an ancient rock, as dignified and stately as tbe princess of an ancient race.

Nights are long and deeply blue by the shores of Gitchee Gumee, and bright with fireflies, stars, and the mysterious eyes of owls. The wigwam is ochre-warm against spectacular grey-white winters, but summers are vibrant green-gold, birds and animals abound, and the rainbow spans a double page to end at the feet of Nokomis and Hiawatha.

There is a wealth of detail in the pictures. Everything mentioned in each verse can be found in the corresponding illustration, but this is not an example of the 'picture aiding prediction' approach to early reading. Instead, this is a superb example of illustrations complementing and supplementing an already self-sufficient text, a text proven by time, and not to be subjected to linguistic analysis here.

Too often, children's books are 'bandwagon' literature, contrived to follow a trend or serve a cause. Such may have been the case with 'The Song Of Hiawatha' in 1855. Since then allegiances, fashions and ways have changed. Wars have been won and lost. Man has walked on the Moon. We have found a new way of making babies. The technology of communication, unknown to Longfellow, brings boycotts and carbombs to children over dinner. Yet this book has no rockets, no lasers, no popups or see-throughs or choose-your-own-endings. Nor has it bunnies in pinafores. It is simply a book full of beautiful words and inspired pictures which says something eternal about the time we call childhood, for like all good literature it has a moral, and a theme.

In 'Children and Fiction', Wallace Hildick, discussing books designed to be read aloud, makes the following points:

"One must take into account the amateur status of most readers-aloud-to-children the fact that, teacher, parent, or friend, such a reader will not generally have the skill of a trained actor. Therefore a style that sings itself is desirable... a style that as far as possible imposes its own rhythms and emphases and pauses and inflections on the reader..."

After 130 years, these verses still sing themselves in harmony, and children will want to hear that song again and again. This is a book that belongs in every school library, in every teacher's private collection, and in every home where children and books are brought joyfully together. A tuckshop? This is a banquet spread before us.

Robin Knight,

The poems selected for this book are no less interesting than the history they represent. For example, several poems by Michelangelo were included in the section of Italian poetry along with the expected works from Dante, proving that the criterion used for determining what should be included was weighted as much by historical signifigance as lyrical excellence. This nuance adds a marvelous texture to each section and provides the reader with a tangible sense of the spirit of these countries and the ethos of the periods represented.

This book is one of the most treasured tomes in my library and serves the rare dual purpose as both a tool for study and a source of enjoyment.

writings of many of the world's more profound
thinkers and poets. Longfellow was also a translator
of the work of other poets -- but we should understand
that we can tell something about a poet and his
thinking...and his being shaped by experience...in
his selection of the poems that he wishes to take the
time and effort to translate.
Thus, we should look carefully -- and listen
carefully - to Longfellow when he chooses to translate
"Coplas De Manrique" (from the Spanish). It is not
just everyone who would translate, or understand,
something like this: "But O, how false and full of guile/
That world, which wore so soft a smile/But to betray!/
She, that had been his friend before,/Now from the
fated monarch tore/Her charms away."
And the explanatory note which was printed with
the poem helps us to see why Longfellow chose it:
"In the language of his historian, 'Don Jorge Manrique,
in [this] elegant Ode, full of poetic beauties, rich
embellishments of genius, and high moral reflections,
mourned the death of his father as with a funeral hymn.
This praise is not exaggerated. The poem is a model
of its kind. Its conception is solemn and beautiful;
and, in accordance with it, the style moves on, --
calm, dignified, and majestic." (p. 27)
The poems I would suggest need fresh attention and
modern reading are: Coplas De Manrique; Endymion;
The Goblet of Life; Mezzo Cammin; The Occultation of
Orion; Gaspar Becerra; Suspiria; Prometheus; Enceladus;
Fata Morgana; The Haunted Chamber; Charles Sumner
[the thoughts expressed]; The Herons of Elmwood; Haroun
Al Raschid; Palingenesis; Hawthorne (May 23, 1864);
Three Friends of Mine (5 sonnets); The Descent of
the Muses; Keramos; Rondel (translation from Froissart);
Ovid In Exile (Tristia, Book III, Elegy X); from
the Seven Sonnets from Michael Angelo (To Vittoria
Colonna; Dante; Canzone); Jugurtha; Night; Hermes
Trismegistus; Possibilities; Dedication (before

the poem Michael Angelo).
There is much of wonder, solemnity, and grandeur
in Longfellow. As Albert Glover says in the
Introduction to this volume: "...Longfellow's work
remains noble in its dedication to ideals which
defy mere fashion. His voice is learned, tolerant,
compassionate, and courageous." (--Albert Glover,
"Introduction.")
Here are a few lines from "Endymion":
Like Dian's kiss, unasked, unsought,
Love gives itself, but is not bought;
Nor voice, nor sound betrays
Its deep, impassioned gaze.

It comes, -- the beautiful, the free,
The crown of all humanity, --
In silence and alone
To seek the elected one.
--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
* * * * * * * * *

Dante's work is thus multi-layered: it is an exploration of virtue and sin and their consequences; a profound criticism of the state of the Catholic Church at the time, attacking fiercely the institution of the Papacy and Boniface VIII in particular, for their corruption; a reelaboration of old Medieval themes; a bitter analysis of Italian and especially Florentine politics of his day, whose effects he so cruelly suffered.

During his trip, Dante meets and speaks with Biblical characters, Greco-Roman ones, and contemporaries of him. These people tell their stories and explain why they are where they are. Dante touches practically on all relevant and controversial subjects of his time, as well as many of our own. Although in any translation we miss the lyricism of his verse, we can still appreciate the quality and dignity of his writing.

It is not, of course, an easy reading. It is not "light" literature and it demands intelligent, cultivated and also demanding readers. But the reward is infinite. Dante's work has had any number of repercussions in subsequent culture. I think, for example, of Tchaikovsky's "Francesca di Rimini", based on one of the fascinating stories told to Dante in Hell, Purgatory and Heaven. Dante's images are powerful, terrorific in Hell and purely Divine in Heaven. His imagination is truly remarkable, in the way he describes the punsihments and rewards, as well as the characters and their situations.

Lose the fear and plunge into this greatest tour de force. It is really Dantesque.

The poem begins with Dante lost in the woods, like a man who lacks spiritual guidance or is uncertain how to live his life. He is approached by the Roman poet Virgil, who offers to lead him out of the wilderness. They have to travel down through the depths of Hell and face Satan himself (Inferno) before they can escape to the outside world and scale the mountain of Purgatory (Purgatorio), at the top of which is situated the Garden of Eden, where Beatrice, Dante's earthly love, will guide him up through the celestial spheres towards Heaven (Paradiso).

Dante's great inspiration is his concept of the physical and spiritual aspects of these realms. Hell is composed of nine circles arranged in an inverted cone, each circle representing a mortal sin such as violence, theft, treason, witchcraft, blasphemy, suicide, heresy, etc., in which souls who committed these sins in their lifetimes are punished. Even the topmost circle is a sort of Limbo reserved for pre-Christians like Virgil himself, pagans and the unbaptized. Having envisioned this infernal masterpiece, Dante could be considered Hell's greatest architect.

The mountain of Purgatory consists of seven terraces, each representing some corrigible sin like envy, pride, anger, etc., on which souls who committed these sins in their lifetimes do penance. The Garden of Eden represents living man's ideal state of existence, that of perfect wisdom and nearness to God. Admission to the Garden of Eden must be earned by doing penance for earthly sins, hence Purgatory. In the Paradiso, the celestial spheres, each representing a virtue (ambition, love, prudence, fortitude, etc.), consist of the moon, the inner and outer planets, the sun (based on the Ptolemaic model of the solar system), and finally Heaven, wherein dwell God and all angels.

The poem could be considered a morality tale or a series of object lessons, but it's a little more purely narrative than that, given its creative illustration of the hierarchy of souls and its effortless synergy of classical Greco-Roman mythology and Christian theology. It is an essential Medieval literary landmark, and it is difficult to imagine how European literature would have evolved without it.

I read Evangeline, an epic poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. If you think about poetry, you usually think that it's pretty short. But some of the world's most famous poetry is the Iliad and the Odyssey. They are each almost five hundred pages long!

Evangeline takes place in Acadie, which is present-day Nova Scotia. Acadie was a colony of New France, but was then seized by the British in 1713. The British allowed the French to stay on, but in 1755 the British deported all 6,000 of Acadie's French residents. The Acadiens were sent to British colonies throughout the present-day Canada and the United States. Many went to Louisiana, which has a large Acadien population. Families were separated, children put on different ships from their parents'. Since the British were a large force at the time, it has always been told that the Acadiens were nasty to the British. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow decided to take a look at the story from a whole different view-the Acadiens'. He supports the view that the British were just plain mean and inhuman.

Evangeline is about a beautiful woman named, of course, Evangeline. Her life is perfect, and her father is the richest man in their village of Grand-Pré. She has just become engaged to a really great guy named Gabriel. They are in love, and soon to become married, when the British sail into the harbor and announce that it's time to pack up and leave. Gabriel and his father are sent off on one ship, while Evangeline is deported to another place.

Evangeline is heartbroken, and she searches and searches for her beloved Gabriel. Will she find him? Of course I won't tell! Read and find out!

I would recommend this book, but you have to like poetry and happiness and sadness! I loved this book, and one thing made it especially interesting for me. It's a true story. Evangeline is a character based on a real Acadienne named Emmeline Labiche, who was deported, just like Evangeline. The best, and saddest, part is that my sixth-great-grandmother, Marie Hébert, suffered the same thing! When she was only ten, she was deported from Acadie to a whole new world. It must have been terrifying.

The poem is written in unrhymed hexameter which gives it a timeless appeal. It almost reads like a short story rather than a 19th century poem. I got interested in this story after visiting Nova Scotia this summer and meeting the French Canadians who live there. After learning their sad history, I wanted to read this book.

This edition has a 31 page Introduction by C. Bruce Ferguson that recounts the historic events portrayed and the story of how Longfellow came to write about them. It also explores the historicity of the main characters who have become legends on their own. There are 12 pages of black and white illustrations from books and movies which help to bring the setting and characters to life. This is a wonderful edition of a classic of American literature and is highly recommended.