Bloom, Harold, 1930-, American literary critic and scholar, b. New York City. The son of Orthodox Jewish immigrants from Russia, educated at Cornell (B.A., 1951) and Yale Univ. (Ph.D., 1955), the distinguished critic, author, and academic is Sterling Professor of Humanities at Yale and Berg Professor of English at New York Univ. He has written more than 20 books and edited or written the introductions for some 400 other volumes. One of his best-known works, The Anxiety of Influence (1973), postulates a titanic Oedipal struggle in which great writers interpret and revolt against their literary fathers, a theme developed in A Map of Misreading (1974), Poetry and Repression (1976), and Agon (1982).

Bloom has also written studies of many individual authors, e.g., Shelley (1959), Blake (1963), Yeats (1970), Wallace Stevens (1977), and Shakespeare (1998). His wide-ranging literary concerns are represented in The Western Canon (1994), in which Bloom analyzes the works of 26 great masters; in How to Read and Why (2000), in which he presents a manual for literary enjoyment and enlightenment; and in Genius (2002), in which he explores the accomplishments of 100 great writers. His interest in religious and scriptural questions is apparent in such works as Ruin the Sacred Truths (1988), The Book of J (1990), in which he posits that a woman wrote part of the biblical Pentateuch, The American Religion (1992), and Jesus and Yahweh (2005). In addition to many academic and literary honors, Bloom was awarded a 1985 MacArthur fellowship.

Dense aquatic accumulation of microscopic organisms produced by an abundance of nutrients in surface water coupled with adequate sunlight for photosynthesis. The microorganisms or the toxic substances they release may discolour the water, exhaust its oxygen content, poison aquatic animals and waterfowl, and irritate the skin and respiratory tract of humans. Single species of algae, diatoms, or dinoflagellates, reproducing every few hours, may dominate a bloom's population; the number of individuals per quart (litre) of water, normally about 1,000, can increase to 60 million. Blooms of the dinoflagellate genus Gymnodinium cause red tides. The Red Sea is named for the occasional blooms of the alga Trichodesmium erythraeum. Seealso water pollution.

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(born July 11, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. literary critic. Bloom studied at Cornell and Yale universities and taught at Yale from 1955. In The Anxiety of Influence (1973) and A Map of Misreading (1975) he suggested that poetry results from poets deliberately misreading the works that both influence and threaten them. In The Book of J (1990) he speculated that the earliest known biblical texts were written by a woman with principally literary intentions. His best-selling The Western Canon (1994) identifies 26 canonical Western writers and argues against the politicization of literary study.

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(born July 11, 1930, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. literary critic. Bloom studied at Cornell and Yale universities and taught at Yale from 1955. In The Anxiety of Influence (1973) and A Map of Misreading (1975) he suggested that poetry results from poets deliberately misreading the works that both influence and threaten them. In The Book of J (1990) he speculated that the earliest known biblical texts were written by a woman with principally literary intentions. His best-selling The Western Canon (1994) identifies 26 canonical Western writers and argues against the politicization of literary study.

Learn more about Bloom, Harold with a free trial on Britannica.com.

Bloom is a town in Richland County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 487 at the 2000 census.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 36.1 square miles (93.5 km²), all of it land.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 487 people, 190 households, and 130 families residing in the town. The population density was 13.5 people per square mile (5.2/km²). There were 241 housing units at an average density of 6.7/sq mi (2.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.95% White, 1.23% Native American, 0.21% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the populat

There were 190 households out of which 26.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.0% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 24.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 24.2% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 107.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $33,281, and the median income for a family was $33,646. Males had a median income of $26,250 versus $19,583 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,017. About 5.7% of families and 8.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.0% of those under age 18 and 8.6% of those age 65 or over.

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