November, 2009:
Walt Whitman&the World
Walt Whitman&the World
Edited by Gay Wilson Allen & Ed Folsom
This book started as an updating of Gay Wilson Allen’s Walt Whitman Abroad (1955), but it turned into a project trying to capture the ongoing poetic dialogue with Whitman around the world for more than a century, a kind of resistant “talking back” to Whitman by other cultures. We are presented by a tapestry of a wide array of international responses which reveals the way democratic ideals, democratic attitudes, and democratic institutions are perceived around the world, showing how his views of democracy are being reconfigured by every culture he enters, from British Isles, Russia, France and Belgium, Germany, Spain and Latin America to former Yugoslavia, and so many other countries. Hence the book shows how various cultures have reconstructed Whitman in order to make him fit their native patterns and how the act of translation has altered his poetry and made it conform in ways it otherwise would not to the traditions and tones of the receiving nation, and also how his writing undertakes a different kind of cultural work than it performs in the United States.
Walt Whitman&the World gives us not only an overview of political responses to Whitman’s poetry but also an overview of aesthetic and religious responses, thus Franz Kafka found him “among the greatest formal innovators in the modern lyric”, and many Indian writers heard ancient Hindu voices at the hearth of Whitman’s poetry in Whitman’s ability to reconcile contradictions and to resist the valorisation of soul over body.
Additionally we are given an insight into the influence of reading Whitman in other cultural context on “the rather provincial understanding of Whitman held by many American readers and writers, who tend still to view him only in an American context and who tend to be oblivious to the variety of ways that Whitman has been constructed for the purposes and needs of other cultures.”
The fact Whitman „has appealed to so many people in so many places in so many ways“ and „that everyone seems to find in his poetry what she or he wants and needs“ is beautifully explained in what Jorge Luis Borges said on Whitman:
„He wrote his rhapsodies in the role of an imaginary self, formed partly of himself, partly of each of his readers.“
Walt Whitman&the World
Walt Whitman&the World
Edited by Gay Wilson Allen & Ed Folsom
This book started as an updating of Gay Wilson Allen’s Walt Whitman Abroad (1955), but it turned into a project trying to capture the ongoing poetic dialogue with Whitman around the world for more than a century, a kind of resistant “talking back” to Whitman by other cultures. We are presented by a tapestry of a wide array of international responses which reveals the way democratic ideals, democratic attitudes, and democratic institutions are perceived around the world, showing how his views of democracy are being reconfigured by every culture he enters, from British Isles, Russia, France and Belgium, Germany, Spain and Latin America to former Yugoslavia, and so many other countries. Hence the book shows how various cultures have reconstructed Whitman in order to make him fit their native patterns and how the act of translation has altered his poetry and made it conform in ways it otherwise would not to the traditions and tones of the receiving nation, and also how his writing undertakes a different kind of cultural work than it performs in the United States.
Walt Whitman&the World gives us not only an overview of political responses to Whitman’s poetry but also an overview of aesthetic and religious responses, thus Franz Kafka found him “among the greatest formal innovators in the modern lyric”, and many Indian writers heard ancient Hindu voices at the hearth of Whitman’s poetry in Whitman’s ability to reconcile contradictions and to resist the valorisation of soul over body.
Additionally we are given an insight into the influence of reading Whitman in other cultural context on “the rather provincial understanding of Whitman held by many American readers and writers, who tend still to view him only in an American context and who tend to be oblivious to the variety of ways that Whitman has been constructed for the purposes and needs of other cultures.”
The fact Whitman „has appealed to so many people in so many places in so many ways“ and „that everyone seems to find in his poetry what she or he wants and needs“ is beautifully explained in what Jorge Luis Borges said on Whitman:
„He wrote his rhapsodies in the role of an imaginary self, formed partly of himself, partly of each of his readers.“
Walt Whitman&the World
Walt Whitman&the World
Edited by Gay Wilson Allen & Ed Folsom
This book started as an updating of Gay Wilson Allen’s Walt Whitman Abroad (1955), but it turned into a project trying to capture the ongoing poetic dialogue with Whitman around the world for more than a century, a kind of resistant “talking back” to Whitman by other cultures. We are presented by a tapestry of a wide array of international responses which reveals the way democratic ideals, democratic attitudes, and democratic institutions are perceived around the world, showing how his views of democracy are being reconfigured by every culture he enters, from British Isles, Russia, France and Belgium, Germany, Spain and Latin America to former Yugoslavia, and so many other countries. Hence the book shows how various cultures have reconstructed Whitman in order to make him fit their native patterns and how the act of translation has altered his poetry and made it conform in ways it otherwise would not to the traditions and tones of the receiving nation, and also how his writing undertakes a different kind of cultural work than it performs in the United States.
Walt Whitman&the World gives us not only an overview of political responses to Whitman’s poetry but also an overview of aesthetic and religious responses, thus Franz Kafka found him “among the greatest formal innovators in the modern lyric”, and many Indian writers heard ancient Hindu voices at the hearth of Whitman’s poetry in Whitman’s ability to reconcile contradictions and to resist the valorisation of soul over body.
Additionally we are given an insight into the influence of reading Whitman in other cultural context on “the rather provincial understanding of Whitman held by many American readers and writers, who tend still to view him only in an American context and who tend to be oblivious to the variety of ways that Whitman has been constructed for the purposes and needs of other cultures.”
The fact Whitman „has appealed to so many people in so many places in so many ways“ and „that everyone seems to find in his poetry what she or he wants and needs“ is beautifully explained in what Jorge Luis Borges said on Whitman:
„He wrote his rhapsodies in the role of an imaginary self, formed partly of himself, partly of each of his readers.“
Chuck For Dec. 2nd
The tour of Ft. Greene Park led by Greg Trupiano was not only informative but inspirational. I left the tour with a much greater understanding of Ft. Greene because of the information presented. The tour began at the visitor’s center in Ft. Greene Park and Greg began to present the history and relevance of Whitman to this park. What was especially pleasing was that Greg brought along a gentleman who read selections of Whitman with great presence. It is always great to hear Whitman spoken aloud, as I believe he wrote it to be spoken aloud. In addition there was in attendance a member of the conservatory, Charles, who had quite a bit to contribute about the park. During the presentation Nicole sang Whitman’s words. She is a professional Opera singer. Her voice resonatedwithin me long after the tour had ended. The fourth person in attendance was an expert on Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. She was also able to contribute her knowledge to the experience. The prison ship martyr’s monument in Ft. Greene Park is over the crypt of bones from the prisoners’ ships in the harbor. There is one full set of remains, the of Benjamin Romaine, and the vault can only be opened by the great great great great granddaughter of Benjamin Romaine, Vicki Romaine. There are lots of other bones in the crypt, but none as complete. They washed up on the shores of the old Navy Yard, and in the morning the prisoners ships would turn over thir dead and they would be buried in shallow graves where the old Navy Yard is today. The water would uncover the bones and the remains were collected for this crypt. There was lots of talk of the Old Jersey. Whitman writes in New York, “the principal of these prison ships was the old Jersey, a large 74-gun …the one which seems to have been most relied on was the old Jersey. The British took a great manyAmerican prisoners during the war-not only by land, but also by their privateers, at sea. When a capture was made in any of the waters near enough, the prisoners were brought with the vessel to New York. These helped to swell the rank of the unhappy men, who were crowded together in the most infernal quarters, starved, diseased, helpless, and many becoming utterly desperate and insane.-Death and starvation killed them off rapidly” (31). More men died on these ships than died in the entire Battle of Brooklyn. When word got back to Great Britain about these deaths it brought a lot of shame on the soldiers. The anonymity between American and Great Britain remained up until the first World War. After the great presentation at the crypt, we moved on to Whitman’s only standing residence in Brooklyn, 99 Ryerson Street. We gathered across the street and had a question and answer exchange. It is our understanding that everybody who lives in their is quite aware that this is Whitman’s house. Many of the tennants have been students of Pratt. Then we walked back towards CUNY as a group. It was a beautiful day for a tour, and we all left more inspired than we had arrived three hours earlier.
Chuck For Dec. 2nd
The tour of Ft. Greene Park led by Greg Trupiano was not only informative but inspirational. I left the tour with a much greater understanding of Ft. Greene because of the information presented. The tour began at the visitor’s center in Ft. Greene Park and Greg began to present the history and relevance of Whitman to this park. What was especially pleasing was that Greg brought along a gentleman who read selections of Whitman with great presence. It is always great to hear Whitman spoken aloud, as I believe he wrote it to be spoken aloud. In addition there was in attendance a member of the conservatory, Charles, who had quite a bit to contribute about the park. During the presentation Nicole sang Whitman’s words. She is a professional Opera singer. Her voice resonatedwithin me long after the tour had ended. The fourth person in attendance was an expert on Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. She was also able to contribute her knowledge to the experience. The prison ship martyr’s monument in Ft. Greene Park is over the crypt of bones from the prisoners’ ships in the harbor. There is one full set of remains, the of Benjamin Romaine, and the vault can only be opened by the great great great great granddaughter of Benjamin Romaine, Vicki Romaine. There are lots of other bones in the crypt, but none as complete. They washed up on the shores of the old Navy Yard, and in the morning the prisoners ships would turn over thir dead and they would be buried in shallow graves where the old Navy Yard is today. The water would uncover the bones and the remains were collected for this crypt. There was lots of talk of the Old Jersey. Whitman writes in New York, “the principal of these prison ships was the old Jersey, a large 74-gun …the one which seems to have been most relied on was the old Jersey. The British took a great manyAmerican prisoners during the war-not only by land, but also by their privateers, at sea. When a capture was made in any of the waters near enough, the prisoners were brought with the vessel to New York. These helped to swell the rank of the unhappy men, who were crowded together in the most infernal quarters, starved, diseased, helpless, and many becoming utterly desperate and insane.-Death and starvation killed them off rapidly” (31). More men died on these ships than died in the entire Battle of Brooklyn. When word got back to Great Britain about these deaths it brought a lot of shame on the soldiers. The anonymity between American and Great Britain remained up until the first World War. After the great presentation at the crypt, we moved on to Whitman’s only standing residence in Brooklyn, 99 Ryerson Street. We gathered across the street and had a question and answer exchange. It is our understanding that everybody who lives in their is quite aware that this is Whitman’s house. Many of the tennants have been students of Pratt. Then we walked back towards CUNY as a group. It was a beautiful day for a tour, and we all left more inspired than we had arrived three hours earlier.
Chuck For Dec. 2nd
The tour of Ft. Greene Park led by Greg Trupiano was not only informative but inspirational. I left the tour with a much greater understanding of Ft. Greene because of the information presented. The tour began at the visitor’s center in Ft. Greene Park and Greg began to present the history and relevance of Whitman to this park. What was especially pleasing was that Greg brought along a gentleman who read selections of Whitman with great presence. It is always great to hear Whitman spoken aloud, as I believe he wrote it to be spoken aloud. In addition there was in attendance a member of the conservatory, Charles, who had quite a bit to contribute about the park. During the presentation Nicole sang Whitman’s words. She is a professional Opera singer. Her voice resonatedwithin me long after the tour had ended. The fourth person in attendance was an expert on Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. She was also able to contribute her knowledge to the experience. The prison ship martyr’s monument in Ft. Greene Park is over the crypt of bones from the prisoners’ ships in the harbor. There is one full set of remains, the of Benjamin Romaine, and the vault can only be opened by the great great great great granddaughter of Benjamin Romaine, Vicki Romaine. There are lots of other bones in the crypt, but none as complete. They washed up on the shores of the old Navy Yard, and in the morning the prisoners ships would turn over thir dead and they would be buried in shallow graves where the old Navy Yard is today. The water would uncover the bones and the remains were collected for this crypt. There was lots of talk of the Old Jersey. Whitman writes in New York, “the principal of these prison ships was the old Jersey, a large 74-gun …the one which seems to have been most relied on was the old Jersey. The British took a great manyAmerican prisoners during the war-not only by land, but also by their privateers, at sea. When a capture was made in any of the waters near enough, the prisoners were brought with the vessel to New York. These helped to swell the rank of the unhappy men, who were crowded together in the most infernal quarters, starved, diseased, helpless, and many becoming utterly desperate and insane.-Death and starvation killed them off rapidly” (31). More men died on these ships than died in the entire Battle of Brooklyn. When word got back to Great Britain about these deaths it brought a lot of shame on the soldiers. The anonymity between American and Great Britain remained up until the first World War. After the great presentation at the crypt, we moved on to Whitman’s only standing residence in Brooklyn, 99 Ryerson Street. We gathered across the street and had a question and answer exchange. It is our understanding that everybody who lives in their is quite aware that this is Whitman’s house. Many of the tennants have been students of Pratt. Then we walked back towards CUNY as a group. It was a beautiful day for a tour, and we all left more inspired than we had arrived three hours earlier.
Chuck For Dec. 2nd
The tour of Ft. Greene Park led by Greg Trupiano was not only informative but inspirational. I left the tour with a much greater understanding of Ft. Greene because of the information presented. The tour began at the visitor’s center in Ft. Greene Park and Greg began to present the history and relevance of Whitman to this park. What was especially pleasing was that Greg brought along a gentleman who read selections of Whitman with great presence. It is always great to hear Whitman spoken aloud, as I believe he wrote it to be spoken aloud. In addition there was in attendance a member of the conservatory, Charles, who had quite a bit to contribute about the park. During the presentation Nicole sang Whitman’s words. She is a professional Opera singer. Her voice resonatedwithin me long after the tour had ended. The fourth person in attendance was an expert on Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. She was also able to contribute her knowledge to the experience. The prison ship martyr’s monument in Ft. Greene Park is over the crypt of bones from the prisoners’ ships in the harbor. There is one full set of remains, the of Benjamin Romaine, and the vault can only be opened by the great great great great granddaughter of Benjamin Romaine, Vicki Romaine. There are lots of other bones in the crypt, but none as complete. They washed up on the shores of the old Navy Yard, and in the morning the prisoners ships would turn over thir dead and they would be buried in shallow graves where the old Navy Yard is today. The water would uncover the bones and the remains were collected for this crypt. There was lots of talk of the Old Jersey. Whitman writes in New York, “the principal of these prison ships was the old Jersey, a large 74-gun …the one which seems to have been most relied on was the old Jersey. The British took a great manyAmerican prisoners during the war-not only by land, but also by their privateers, at sea. When a capture was made in any of the waters near enough, the prisoners were brought with the vessel to New York. These helped to swell the rank of the unhappy men, who were crowded together in the most infernal quarters, starved, diseased, helpless, and many becoming utterly desperate and insane.-Death and starvation killed them off rapidly” (31). More men died on these ships than died in the entire Battle of Brooklyn. When word got back to Great Britain about these deaths it brought a lot of shame on the soldiers. The anonymity between American and Great Britain remained up until the first World War. After the great presentation at the crypt, we moved on to Whitman’s only standing residence in Brooklyn, 99 Ryerson Street. We gathered across the street and had a question and answer exchange. It is our understanding that everybody who lives in their is quite aware that this is Whitman’s house. Many of the tennants have been students of Pratt. Then we walked back towards CUNY as a group. It was a beautiful day for a tour, and we all left more inspired than we had arrived three hours earlier.
Chuck For Dec. 2nd
The tour of Ft. Greene Park led by Greg Trupiano was not only informative but inspirational. I left the tour with a much greater understanding of Ft. Greene because of the information presented. The tour began at the visitor’s center in Ft. Greene Park and Greg began to present the history and relevance of Whitman to this park. What was especially pleasing was that Greg brought along a gentleman who read selections of Whitman with great presence. It is always great to hear Whitman spoken aloud, as I believe he wrote it to be spoken aloud. In addition there was in attendance a member of the conservatory, Charles, who had quite a bit to contribute about the park. During the presentation Nicole sang Whitman’s words. She is a professional Opera singer. Her voice resonatedwithin me long after the tour had ended. The fourth person in attendance was an expert on Crown Heights and Bed-Stuy. She was also able to contribute her knowledge to the experience. The prison ship martyr’s monument in Ft. Greene Park is over the crypt of bones from the prisoners’ ships in the harbor. There is one full set of remains, the of Benjamin Romaine, and the vault can only be opened by the great great great great granddaughter of Benjamin Romaine, Vicki Romaine. There are lots of other bones in the crypt, but none as complete. They washed up on the shores of the old Navy Yard, and in the morning the prisoners ships would turn over thir dead and they would be buried in shallow graves where the old Navy Yard is today. The water would uncover the bones and the remains were collected for this crypt. There was lots of talk of the Old Jersey. Whitman writes in New York, “the principal of these prison ships was the old Jersey, a large 74-gun …the one which seems to have been most relied on was the old Jersey. The British took a great manyAmerican prisoners during the war-not only by land, but also by their privateers, at sea. When a capture was made in any of the waters near enough, the prisoners were brought with the vessel to New York. These helped to swell the rank of the unhappy men, who were crowded together in the most infernal quarters, starved, diseased, helpless, and many becoming utterly desperate and insane.-Death and starvation killed them off rapidly” (31). More men died on these ships than died in the entire Battle of Brooklyn. When word got back to Great Britain about these deaths it brought a lot of shame on the soldiers. The anonymity between American and Great Britain remained up until the first World War. After the great presentation at the crypt, we moved on to Whitman’s only standing residence in Brooklyn, 99 Ryerson Street. We gathered across the street and had a question and answer exchange. It is our understanding that everybody who lives in their is quite aware that this is Whitman’s house. Many of the tennants have been students of Pratt. Then we walked back towards CUNY as a group. It was a beautiful day for a tour, and we all left more inspired than we had arrived three hours earlier.