Archive | Uncategorized

For my project I will be researching the numerous connections in the poetry of Walt Whitman and Yusef Komunyakaa with a focus on Whitman’s effect on Komunyakaa’s Vietnam War poetry found in Dien Cai Dau. The influence of Whitman on Komunyakaa is wide spread. Both poets have an interest in the interconnectedness of humans, as […]

Whitman has been praised by the multitudes for his “prophetic voice” that comes through in both the style and content of his work.  His messages remain relevant because they do not ascribe to the boundaries of a specific time or place, and therefore can be interpreted and applied to our present, past, and future societies.  […]

My topic will focus on exploring Whitman and his relationship with both the death of the body and the soul. I will explore this both through his work during the pre and post civil war eras and through various critical sources that I have found during my research. So much of Whitman’s work revolves around […]

In 2013, James Franco wrote “Why Walt Whitman Was the Original Kanye West,” an article that draws comparisons between two of the most celebrated creative producers in American history. Franco makes an interesting case for the Whitmanian presence in West, pointing mostly to the self-promoting tendencies each has demonstrated throughout their careers. However, we find […]

Known as an egalitarian, Walt Whitman’s poems are often seen as champions to social democracy, transcending the boundaries of time, space, and people to make all things equal. It is no surprise then, that the African American literary community has often embraced Whitman with open arms, as a man beyond his time who believed in […]

Introduction: In this project I will interpret Whitman’s portrayal of women, to determine whether or not he serves as a feminist poet, or as more of a product of his time. Meanwhile, I will utilize the work of Adrienne Rich, a feminist poet, as a framework for feminist ideals. Then, I will be able to compare […]

It is clear from the beginning of Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Rankine is going to weave death into almost every observation, anecdote, or story she provides us with.  However, for brevity’s sake it is more productive to talk about a few passages that seem to bring up her more Whitmanian views on the matter.  One […]

In Rankine’s work, Don’t Let me be Lonely, An American Lyric, one of the first things I noticed was her brief mention of race in the very first paragraph. Rankine describes how she never truly knew anyone who had died: “The years went by and people only died on television -if they weren’t black, they were […]

If everybody did not die the earth would be all covered over and I, I as I, could not have come to be all covered over and I, as I, could not have come to be and try as much as I can try not to be I, nevertheless, I would mind that so much […]

Like Whitman, Claudia Rankine addresses the idea of a collective soul. But Rankine does not discuss this concept with Whitmanian optimism. With subdued (and at times despondent) prose, Rankine chooses to focus on the tension of the individual self and collectivity, which are linked through the human feelings of loneliness, grief, and mourning. Alongside the […]