A review by claudiadcd
Poems Bewitched and Haunted by John Hollander

3.0

Some truly set the mood, some are not even about the holiday but just spooky and others seem off the mark. But it's worth it for the gems. Reading level is high and challenging, and I'm the one who enjoyed Homer and mucked through most of the Aenied in college. I read Edgar Allen Poe for fun. Think academic and old-school. Most of these poems needed two reads to just get a base comprehension. You should read each twice or even thrice, in order to first get the words and movement of the scene, then to visualize it all, then to set yourself in the space with all your senses alive in order to really spook yourself out. I can forgive the many poems that missed for the poems that got me ready for Halloween and ensconced in the mood.