Visionary, prophet, tyrant, racist, bigot. It is perhaps sufficient in saying that no other poet can hold as many of those modifiers as Walt Whitman. From scholars and poets ranging in ethnic background and sexual orientation, the response to Whitman has been incredibly varied. Many see his work as a stepping stone for future generations, […]
Author Archive | Noah
Who is Walt Whitman? – A Critical Look at the Good Gray Poet in Popular and Academic Culture
Over the course of the semester, we have seen Walt Whitman through various lenses from academic culture. We have viewed Whitman through the lense of African Americans, Native Americans, Queer poets, and women, all with their varying degrees of disdain and praise for the controversial poet. We have also studied Whitman’s influence over popular culture […]
9:36 – An (Attempted) Imitation of Ben Lerner’s Style
Over the course of the semester, we have read many different responses to Whitman and his influence over the literary world. However, it wasn’t until we read Ben Lerner’s 10:04 that I could feel and understand Whitman’s influence in a fictional verse setting. All of our previous readings have shown Whitman’s influence over poetry and essays […]
Examining the Translated Work of Pablo Neruda and Walt Whitman
When translating a work, there are many things to take into consideration. Sentence structure, linguistic idioms, and ideological reworking can radically change the meaning of an author’s original work to the point of creating something completely new and different and thus undermines the meaning of the original work. To me, the purpose of a translation […]
Allen Ginsberg’s Infatuation with Whitman
Much like with any group of people, the queer community has had an incredibly /hvaried response to Whitman’s work over the years. Many see his work as revolutionary — a stepping stone for many in the queer community and a huge influence in their work. Many see his work as grotesque sprawls — a racially […]
Examining Whitman’s Imagined America
With Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, Whitman attempts the unthinkable and tries to encapsulate the feelings and emotions of every American. By doing so, however, it seems Whitman wrongfully depicts the trials and tribulations of minorities and by doing so shows his prejudices towards minorities in the United States. In his essay, “Imagined America: Walt […]
Crossing A Parking Lot at 4 O’Clock in the Morning in Charleston
I am by no means a fan of Whitman (I admire his craftsmanship and a lot of his post Civil War poems, but that is about it), but while reading the section for this week, I couldn’t help but feel more connected to Whitman as an author. The fact that poets and authors continue to […]
The Dead, but Remembered America in Whitman’s “The Pallid Wreath”
To many readers and scholars, Walt Whitman’s post-war poem “The Pallid Wreath” is a simple poem concerning the concept of death and remembrance that was written in the final years of Whitman’s life. While a lot of Whitman’s poetry deals with the concepts of life and death concerning human beings, much of Whitman’s work also […]
THIS COMPOST! – A Screenplay Adaptation
This Compost EXT. WOODS – DAY The sun shines through the leaves of the trees onto the shore. Narrator (V.O.): Something startles me where I thought I was safest Subtle waves lap onto the muddy banks between the ocean and the woods. Narrator (V.O.): I withdraw from the still woods I loved, I will not […]
The Conceited Nature of Whitman’s Writing
There are many ways to interpret the works of Walt Whitman. Some people see him as a visionary and one of the quintessential American poets. Others see him merely as a conceited man who overly inflates his self worth. I believe the latter more, however it is undeniable to see Whitman’s impact on American poetry […]