In section ten of Whitman’s most celebrated poem “Song of Myself,” he describes giving aid to a runaway slave: “ANd brought water and fill’d a tub for his sweated body and bruis’d feet, And gave him a room that enter’d from my own, and gave him some coarse clean clothes.” Originally published in 1855, Whitman used “Song of Myself” and various other works to boldly assert his anti-slavery views and often attempted to embody the African American experience. Whitman’s influence on African American literature and poetry remains strong today, with poets such as Martin Espada (not actually African American), who connects, embodies, and even challenges Whitman in relation to present day black discrimination. For my project, I would like to write a traditional research paper diving deeper into the African American and Walt Whitman connection. The ‘Whitman’ who drew my attention in class was the one where he took on the topic os racial and sexual others. What pulls me specifically towards the Whitman representation and at times advocacy for African Americans is my current and growing knowledge of African American history and literature. Throughout my college career I have learned a lot about the authentic African American experience both past and present, which is why this project becomes an excellent opportunity for me to combine these studies with Walt Whitman himself.
After doing a brief search for academic articles concerning this topic, I quickly became aware that finding sources will not be an issue, but building my own argument amongst the many will be. I plan on doing secondary research surrounding topics such as Whitman being an icon versus an adversary for the African American community. Essentially, I hope to understand how Whitman can be both embraced and resisted by black writers. I will also dig deep into primary sources including Whitman’s own work concerning African Americans and slavery as well as more current poetry and literature by other authors like Langston Hughes. I am hoping my research will help specify my topic even further where I can make a unique claim on Whitman, African Americans, and the present, ultimately joining the hundreds of Whitmanian critics already in existence.
Yes, this is a somewhat crowded conversation, but one in which there is still much to say. I mentioned the recent book, available online, called Whitman Noir that offers a great grounding in this ongoing conversation about Whitman and race.