Lafcadio Hearn

March 15, 2009
Benfey (Mellon Professor of English, Mount Holyoke) presents four of Hearn's books as well as 25 newspaper and magazine articles and 11 letters written in the 1870s and 1880s. Hearn (18501904) is associated especially with New Orleans, Martinique, and Japan, where he became a citizen in 1885 and took the name Koizumi Yakumo. His interest in ghost stories, folktales, voodoo, and the offbeat are reflected in his works. The first piece in this collection, "Some Chinese Ghosts", is described by Hearn as a failed attempt to understand the Far East through books alone. In "Chita: A Memory of Last Island", he recounts the devastation caused by a hurricane in Louisiana in 1856. The last two major works in this volume, "Two Years in the French West Indies" (presented with over 80 original illustrations) and "Youma: The Story of a West-Indian Slave", are the products of his experiences in Martinique. Although an impressive collection, this would be most appropriate for larger academic libraries collecting Hearn materials.Anthony Pucci, Notre Dame H.S., Elmira, NY

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