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Whitman’s Carriage Step

Nov 21st, 2009
by joelemagne.
Comments are off for this post

Walt Whitman House

Carriage stoop

Whitman’s Carriage Stoop

 

      In his later years in Camden, Walt Whitman began receiving many generous gifts and loans. Throughout Camden, Philadelphia, and Southern New Jersey, his network of rich, gift giving, friends had grown very large. For example, his Camden house, at 328 Mickle Street, was purchased for $1,750, of which $1250 dollars came from book royalties, but the other $500 was a loan from his friend George W. Childs. (Reynolds 546) And another generous gift, in May 1887, the journalist and author William Sloane Kennedy started a summerhouse fund for Whitman. The fund came to Whitman in the amounts of $323 dollars and then another $465 sent later. However, Whitman never used the money for a summerhouse; instead he added the money to his personal savings. (Reynolds 554) In 1885, Whitman’s horse and buggy was another, overwhelmingly generous, gift.

      The horse and buggy was quite significant. Whitman was 66 when he received the carriage. It was a particularly thoughtful gift. Although, there were means of public transportation available, for example, Justin Kaplan specifically notes the noise and proximity of the trains and ferries that were close to the Mickle Street residence, “night and day trains of the Camden and Amboy Railroad puffed and rattled along about a hundred yards away from the house. It was also earshot of factory whistles, shipping on the Delaware, and the ferry terminal.”(Kaplan 14) As Whitman aged, he began to express troubles with traveling around in the growing city of Camden. The carriage provided a source of an easier, personal transportation.

      Prior to the carriage, Whitman was nearly a forced shut in. Being house ridden was especially criminal to a poet like Whitman, who was inspired through his surroundings whether they were rural like his child hood in Long Island or urban like his experiences in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or his then current city, Camden. The adventurous poet could not have been very inspired with out means of exploring his environments.  

      The rumor of Whitman’s distress started to make its way around his social circles. His network of friends reacted with considerable aid. Thomas Donaldson, a Philadelphia lawyer, had previously obtained free ferry passages for Whitman, a noteworthy gesture, since it was obvious that Whitman enjoyed ferry trips, a better-known Whitman poem is “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry”. The free passages were also Whitman’s only way into Philadelphia, since the Ben Franklin Bridge was not opened for another 40 years or so in 1926. It was also Thomas Donaldson who eventually secures the horse and buggy for Whitman. It arrives in front of Whitman’s 328 Mickle Street residence on September 17, 1885. Whitman immediately takes a liking to his new carriage. He seemed to have enjoyed the speed so much that he sells his first horse Frank for a faster one named Nettie. He used the carriage often until his second stroke in 1888, when he gave the horse and buggy up for good. (Reynolds 553)

     The carriage step must have been installed into the front sidewalk of the Mickle Street residence sometime between 1885 and 1888, which places its age around 121 years old. It is certainly surprising that the stoop stayed so undisturbed for such a considerable amount of time. The picture above shows the clear engraving of Whitman’s initials. The stoop remains in front of the house as a reminder of Whitman’s need for adventure and the generous friends he held around the Camden area.

Works Cited

Dooley, Joseph S. Whitman Carriage Step. Digital image. 21 Nov. 2009. Web.

 

Kaplan, Justin. Walt Whitman a life.

           New York: Perennial, 2003. Print.

 

Midnightdreary. Walt Whitamn House in Camden. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons.

 Wikipedia.org, 13 Oct. 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhitmanHouse-CamdenNJ1.jpg.

 

Reynolds, David S. Walt Whitman’s America A Cultural Biography.

            New York: Vintage, 1996. Print.

Whitman’s Carriage Step

Nov 21st, 2009
by joelemagne.
Comments are off for this post

Walt Whitman House

Carriage stoop

Whitman’s Carriage Stoop

In his later years in Camden, Walt Whitman began receiving many generous gifts and loans. Throughout Camden, Philadelphia, and Southern New Jersey, his network of rich, gift giving, friends had grown very large. For example, his Camden house, at 328 Mickle Street, was purchased for $1,750, of which $1250 dollars came from book royalties, but the other $500 was a loan from his friend George W. Childs. (Reynolds 546) And another generous gift, in May 1887, the journalist and author William Sloane Kennedy started a summerhouse fund for Whitman. The fund came to Whitman in the amounts of $323 dollars and then another $465 sent later. However, Whitman never used the money for a summerhouse; instead he added the money to his personal savings. (Reynolds 554) In 1885, Whitman’s horse and buggy was another, overwhelmingly generous, gift.

The horse and buggy was quite significant. Whitman was 66 when he received the carriage. It was a particularly thoughtful gift. Although, there were means of public transportation available, for example, Justin Kaplan specifically notes the noise and proximity of the trains and ferries that were close to the Mickle Street residence, “night and day trains of the Camden and Amboy Railroad puffed and rattled along about a hundred yards away from the house. It was also earshot of factory whistles, shipping on the Delaware, and the ferry terminal.”(Kaplan 14) As Whitman aged, he began to express troubles with traveling around in the growing city of Camden. The carriage provided a source of an easier, personal transportation.

Prior to the carriage, Whitman was nearly a forced shut in. Being house ridden was especially criminal to a poet like Whitman, who was inspired through his surroundings whether they were rural like his child hood in Long Island or urban like his experiences in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or his then current city, Camden. The adventurous poet could not have been very inspired with out means of exploring his environments.

The rumor of Whitman’s distress started to make its way around his social circles. His network of friends reacted with considerable aid. Thomas Donaldson, a Philadelphia lawyer, had previously obtained free ferry passages for Whitman, a noteworthy gesture, since it was obvious that Whitman enjoyed ferry trips, a better-known Whitman poem is “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry”. The free passages were also Whitman’s only way into Philadelphia, since the Ben Franklin Bridge was not opened for another 40 years or so in 1926. It was also Thomas Donaldson who eventually secures the horse and buggy for Whitman. It arrives in front of Whitman’s 328 Mickle Street residence on September 17, 1885. Whitman immediately takes a liking to his new carriage. He seemed to have enjoyed the speed so much that he sells his first horse Frank for a faster one named Nettie. He used the carriage often until his second stroke in 1888, when he gave the horse and buggy up for good. (Reynolds 553)

The carriage step must have been installed into the front sidewalk of the Mickle Street residence sometime between 1885 and 1888, which places its age around 121 years old. It is certainly surprising that the stoop stayed so undisturbed for such a considerable amount of time. The picture above shows the clear engraving of Whitman’s initials. The stoop remains in front of the house as a reminder of Whitman’s need for adventure and the generous friends he held around the Camden area.

Works Cited

Dooley, Joseph S. Whitman Carriage Step. Digital image. 21 Nov. 2009. Web.

Kaplan, Justin. Walt Whitman a life.

New York: Perennial, 2003. Print.

Midnightdreary. Walt Whitamn House in Camden. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons.

Wikipedia.org, 13 Oct. 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhitmanHouse-CamdenNJ1.jpg.

Reynolds, David S. Walt Whitman’s America A Cultural Biography.

New York: Vintage, 1996. Print.

Whitman’s Carriage Step

Nov 21st, 2009
by joelemagne.
Comments are off for this post

Walt Whitman House

Carriage stoop

Whitman’s Carriage Stoop

 

      In his later years in Camden, Walt Whitman began receiving many generous gifts and loans. Throughout Camden, Philadelphia, and Southern New Jersey, his network of rich, gift giving, friends had grown very large. For example, his Camden house, at 328 Mickle Street, was purchased for $1,750, of which $1250 dollars came from book royalties, but the other $500 was a loan from his friend George W. Childs. (Reynolds 546) And another generous gift, in May 1887, the journalist and author William Sloane Kennedy started a summerhouse fund for Whitman. The fund came to Whitman in the amounts of $323 dollars and then another $465 sent later. However, Whitman never used the money for a summerhouse; instead he added the money to his personal savings. (Reynolds 554) In 1885, Whitman’s horse and buggy was another, overwhelmingly generous, gift.

      The horse and buggy was quite significant. Whitman was 66 when he received the carriage. It was a particularly thoughtful gift. Although, there were means of public transportation available, for example, Justin Kaplan specifically notes the noise and proximity of the trains and ferries that were close to the Mickle Street residence, “night and day trains of the Camden and Amboy Railroad puffed and rattled along about a hundred yards away from the house. It was also earshot of factory whistles, shipping on the Delaware, and the ferry terminal.”(Kaplan 14) As Whitman aged, he began to express troubles with traveling around in the growing city of Camden. The carriage provided a source of an easier, personal transportation.

      Prior to the carriage, Whitman was nearly a forced shut in. Being house ridden was especially criminal to a poet like Whitman, who was inspired through his surroundings whether they were rural like his child hood in Long Island or urban like his experiences in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or his then current city, Camden. The adventurous poet could not have been very inspired with out means of exploring his environments.  

      The rumor of Whitman’s distress started to make its way around his social circles. His network of friends reacted with considerable aid. Thomas Donaldson, a Philadelphia lawyer, had previously obtained free ferry passages for Whitman, a noteworthy gesture, since it was obvious that Whitman enjoyed ferry trips, a better-known Whitman poem is “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry”. The free passages were also Whitman’s only way into Philadelphia, since the Ben Franklin Bridge was not opened for another 40 years or so in 1926. It was also Thomas Donaldson who eventually secures the horse and buggy for Whitman. It arrives in front of Whitman’s 328 Mickle Street residence on September 17, 1885. Whitman immediately takes a liking to his new carriage. He seemed to have enjoyed the speed so much that he sells his first horse Frank for a faster one named Nettie. He used the carriage often until his second stroke in 1888, when he gave the horse and buggy up for good. (Reynolds 553)

     The carriage step must have been installed into the front sidewalk of the Mickle Street residence sometime between 1885 and 1888, which places its age around 121 years old. It is certainly surprising that the stoop stayed so undisturbed for such a considerable amount of time. The picture above shows the clear engraving of Whitman’s initials. The stoop remains in front of the house as a reminder of Whitman’s need for adventure and the generous friends he held around the Camden area.

Works Cited

Dooley, Joseph S. Whitman Carriage Step. Digital image. 21 Nov. 2009. Web.

 

Kaplan, Justin. Walt Whitman a life.

           New York: Perennial, 2003. Print.

 

Midnightdreary. Walt Whitamn House in Camden. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons.

 Wikipedia.org, 13 Oct. 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhitmanHouse-CamdenNJ1.jpg.

 

Reynolds, David S. Walt Whitman’s America A Cultural Biography.

            New York: Vintage, 1996. Print.

Whitman’s Carriage Step

Nov 21st, 2009
by joelemagne.
Comments are off for this post

Walt Whitman House

Carriage stoop

Whitman’s Carriage Stoop

 

      In his later years in Camden, Walt Whitman began receiving many generous gifts and loans. Throughout Camden, Philadelphia, and Southern New Jersey, his network of rich, gift giving, friends had grown very large. For example, his Camden house, at 328 Mickle Street, was purchased for $1,750, of which $1250 dollars came from book royalties, but the other $500 was a loan from his friend George W. Childs. (Reynolds 546) And another generous gift, in May 1887, the journalist and author William Sloane Kennedy started a summerhouse fund for Whitman. The fund came to Whitman in the amounts of $323 dollars and then another $465 sent later. However, Whitman never used the money for a summerhouse; instead he added the money to his personal savings. (Reynolds 554) In 1885, Whitman’s horse and buggy was another, overwhelmingly generous, gift.

      The horse and buggy was quite significant. Whitman was 66 when he received the carriage. It was a particularly thoughtful gift. Although, there were means of public transportation available, for example, Justin Kaplan specifically notes the noise and proximity of the trains and ferries that were close to the Mickle Street residence, “night and day trains of the Camden and Amboy Railroad puffed and rattled along about a hundred yards away from the house. It was also earshot of factory whistles, shipping on the Delaware, and the ferry terminal.”(Kaplan 14) As Whitman aged, he began to express troubles with traveling around in the growing city of Camden. The carriage provided a source of an easier, personal transportation.

      Prior to the carriage, Whitman was nearly a forced shut in. Being house ridden was especially criminal to a poet like Whitman, who was inspired through his surroundings whether they were rural like his child hood in Long Island or urban like his experiences in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or his then current city, Camden. The adventurous poet could not have been very inspired with out means of exploring his environments.  

      The rumor of Whitman’s distress started to make its way around his social circles. His network of friends reacted with considerable aid. Thomas Donaldson, a Philadelphia lawyer, had previously obtained free ferry passages for Whitman, a noteworthy gesture, since it was obvious that Whitman enjoyed ferry trips, a better-known Whitman poem is “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry”. The free passages were also Whitman’s only way into Philadelphia, since the Ben Franklin Bridge was not opened for another 40 years or so in 1926. It was also Thomas Donaldson who eventually secures the horse and buggy for Whitman. It arrives in front of Whitman’s 328 Mickle Street residence on September 17, 1885. Whitman immediately takes a liking to his new carriage. He seemed to have enjoyed the speed so much that he sells his first horse Frank for a faster one named Nettie. He used the carriage often until his second stroke in 1888, when he gave the horse and buggy up for good. (Reynolds 553)

     The carriage step must have been installed into the front sidewalk of the Mickle Street residence sometime between 1885 and 1888, which places its age around 121 years old. It is certainly surprising that the stoop stayed so undisturbed for such a considerable amount of time. The picture above shows the clear engraving of Whitman’s initials. The stoop remains in front of the house as a reminder of Whitman’s need for adventure and the generous friends he held around the Camden area.

Works Cited

Dooley, Joseph S. Whitman Carriage Step. Digital image. 21 Nov. 2009. Web.

 

Kaplan, Justin. Walt Whitman a life.

           New York: Perennial, 2003. Print.

 

Midnightdreary. Walt Whitamn House in Camden. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons.

Wikipedia.org, 13 Oct. 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhitmanHouse-CamdenNJ1.jpg.

 

Reynolds, David S. Walt Whitman’s America A Cultural Biography.

            New York: Vintage, 1996. Print.

Whitman’s Carriage Step

Nov 21st, 2009
by joelemagne.
Comments are off for this post

Walt Whitman House

Carriage stoop

Whitman’s Carriage Stoop

 

      In his later years in Camden, Walt Whitman began receiving many generous gifts and loans. Throughout Camden, Philadelphia, and Southern New Jersey, his network of rich, gift giving, friends had grown very large. For example, his Camden house, at 328 Mickle Street, was purchased for $1,750, of which $1250 dollars came from book royalties, but the other $500 was a loan from his friend George W. Childs. (Reynolds 546) And another generous gift, in May 1887, the journalist and author William Sloane Kennedy started a summerhouse fund for Whitman. The fund came to Whitman in the amounts of $323 dollars and then another $465 sent later. However, Whitman never used the money for a summerhouse; instead he added the money to his personal savings. (Reynolds 554) In 1885, Whitman’s horse and buggy was another, overwhelmingly generous, gift.

      The horse and buggy was quite significant. Whitman was 66 when he received the carriage. It was a particularly thoughtful gift. Although, there were means of public transportation available, for example, Justin Kaplan specifically notes the noise and proximity of the trains and ferries that were close to the Mickle Street residence, “night and day trains of the Camden and Amboy Railroad puffed and rattled along about a hundred yards away from the house. It was also earshot of factory whistles, shipping on the Delaware, and the ferry terminal.”(Kaplan 14) As Whitman aged, he began to express troubles with traveling around in the growing city of Camden. The carriage provided a source of an easier, personal transportation.

      Prior to the carriage, Whitman was nearly a forced shut in. Being house ridden was especially criminal to a poet like Whitman, who was inspired through his surroundings whether they were rural like his child hood in Long Island or urban like his experiences in Brooklyn, Manhattan, or his then current city, Camden. The adventurous poet could not have been very inspired with out means of exploring his environments.  

      The rumor of Whitman’s distress started to make its way around his social circles. His network of friends reacted with considerable aid. Thomas Donaldson, a Philadelphia lawyer, had previously obtained free ferry passages for Whitman, a noteworthy gesture, since it was obvious that Whitman enjoyed ferry trips, a better-known Whitman poem is “Crossing the Brooklyn Ferry”. The free passages were also Whitman’s only way into Philadelphia, since the Ben Franklin Bridge was not opened for another 40 years or so in 1926. It was also Thomas Donaldson who eventually secures the horse and buggy for Whitman. It arrives in front of Whitman’s 328 Mickle Street residence on September 17, 1885. Whitman immediately takes a liking to his new carriage. He seemed to have enjoyed the speed so much that he sells his first horse Frank for a faster one named Nettie. He used the carriage often until his second stroke in 1888, when he gave the horse and buggy up for good. (Reynolds 553)

     The carriage step must have been installed into the front sidewalk of the Mickle Street residence sometime between 1885 and 1888, which places its age around 121 years old. It is certainly surprising that the stoop stayed so undisturbed for such a considerable amount of time. The picture above shows the clear engraving of Whitman’s initials. The stoop remains in front of the house as a reminder of Whitman’s need for adventure and the generous friends he held around the Camden area.

Works Cited

Dooley, Joseph S. Whitman Carriage Step. Digital image. 21 Nov. 2009. Web.

 

Kaplan, Justin. Walt Whitman a life.

           New York: Perennial, 2003. Print.

 

Midnightdreary. Walt Whitamn House in Camden. Digital image. Wikimedia Commons.

Wikipedia.org, 13 Oct. 2007. Web. 21 Nov. 2009.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:WhitmanHouse-CamdenNJ1.jpg.

 

Reynolds, David S. Walt Whitman’s America A Cultural Biography.

            New York: Vintage, 1996. Print.

Late Night TV and Walt

Nov 16th, 2009
by janices.
Comments are off for this post

In the words of Sofia Petrillo, picture it:  Magnolia (that’s in NJ), Thursday, November 11, 2009, sometime between 9 and 9:30 pm.  I’ve just arrived home from my third evening on campus at Rutgers, Camden and have one thing on my mind, to get ahead in my Looking for Whitman work.  I have caught up in my other classes, except for finishing King Lear.  I am determined to finish my digital museum and my two new Whitman assignments by Sunday so I can focus on Shakespeare on Monday…..

I sit down at my computer and decide to check my email before beginning my project, only to find a note from a professor informing me that a paper I turned in a week ago was done incorrectly.  For the next five minutes I hesitate, think about calling it quits forever – this has been the most grueling semester I have ever had – change my mind and immediately get to work on correcting  the assignment.

I am now sitting on my couch, hunched over my coffee table, where my lap top happily resides, (I don’t recommend this….it kills the back and cuts off circulation to the legs.) when I realize it is 10 pm.  I have been working feverishly for only about 20 minutes, and although I don’t make it a habit to watch TV while working, I absolutely must turn it on.  I have allowed myself one last television indulgence since going back to school 4 years ago and it is on NOW.  So, I turn the volume down half way and go back to my paper.  I am pretty much tuning out the show I so desperately wanted to see…..and it’s the semi final episode of the season!  I am so much more interested in getting this paper done.  (This little problem has really put a glitch in  my exiting weekend plans!!!!!)  I ended up working on the paper until 2 am, so I cannot tell you if this actually happened during my show or some other time during those four hours at the computer, but all of a sudden my brain registers something my ears have vaguely heard.  Could this really be happening?  My eyes dart from my computer screen to the TV.  Low and behold this is really happening! Despite how fatigued they are, my ears have not deceived me.  It is not an illusion.  What I am hearing is “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” and what I am seeing is the Levi commercial that we were just discussing in class the night before.  Who would have thunk it?  I stop, watch and attempt to register this timely event somewhere in my now overly taxed brain.  Writing about Walt Whitman and watching “his” commercial on TV at the same time; I could not have planned that in a millennium.

So what about the commercial?  My initial reaction is one of anger.  That is probably because the beginning of the ad is violent and confusing.  At first it appears that the characters are unsuccessfully attempting to fight off something scary, and then they appear to be running from something.  In the end they are just playing.  While the commercial’s cast of characters is made up of young people, and Walt is addressing his “tan-faced children” in the first line of the poem, that is where the similarity between the two ends.  By the fourth stanza of the poem Walt is telling his audience that they need to take up where their predecessors left off, “We take up the task eternal, and the burden andthe lesson.”  In the commercial the first three stanzas where Walt is beckoning to the youth to follow him, are read.   The fourth stanza, which is where Walt lets the youth know his intentionn for calling them, is completely skipped, then the second and third lines of the fifth stanza are read and it is over.  There are twenty-six stanzas in the poem.  How could anyone come to understand Walt’s full meaning in the poem from this ad?  How could anyone have the opportunity to appreciate what he was trying to do with his work by watching this one minute and three second video?  They cannot.  Unless the poem is read in its entirety it is not possible to understand its meaning.  The advertisers took a portion of this poem and attempted to fit it into their agenda.  They sorely missed the mark.  The visuals do not match Walt’s words or meaning.

The producers take a beautiful poem and mock it.  The characters in the commercial are not forging onward through uncharted territories, they are playing.  They are not depicted as doing anything to move this land forward or take their places in society as the previous generation winds down, as Walt is calling them to do in his poem.  In stanza twenty-three he specifically tells his readers that the call on their lives is not for fun, but for hard work.

                             Not for delectations sweet,

            Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious,

            Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment,

                            Pioneers! O pioneers!  (Kaplan 374)

Another aspect of this commercial that  is a mockery to Walt is the use of his work to sell clothing.  One of the characteristics about Wlat that has come through in my reasearch is that he was never interested in clothing as it pertained to the latest fashion or what was popular at the time.  I don’t see him as one who whould be honored to be linked to an advertisement for clothing.  Possibly if the Levis were presented in such a way that linked them to blazing uncharted territory, building a better world, or fighting against oppression he could appreciate his words being used to sell them.

As my grandmother used to say, Walt is probably turning over in his grave.  Anyone who compares what he was doing with his work to this commercial and says that television advertisers are the new poets is degrading him and his life.

I find one good thing about his ad; it gave me material for a Looking for Whitman blog post.

Late Night TV and Walt

Nov 16th, 2009
by janices.
Comments are off for this post

In the words of Sofia Petrillo, picture it:  Magnolia (that’s in NJ), Thursday, November 11, 2009, sometime between 9 and 9:30 pm.  I’ve just arrived home from my third evening on campus at Rutgers, Camden and have one thing on my mind, to get ahead in my Looking for Whitman work.  I have caught up in my other classes, except for finishing King Lear.  I am determined to finish my digital museum and my two new Whitman assignments by Sunday so I can focus on Shakespeare on Monday…..

I sit down at my computer and decide to check my email before beginning my project, only to find a note from a professor informing me that a paper I turned in a week ago was done incorrectly.  For the next five minutes I hesitate, think about calling it quits forever – this has been the most grueling semester I have ever had – change my mind and immediately get to work on correcting  the assignment.

I am now sitting on my couch, hunched over my coffee table, where my lap top happily resides, (I don’t recommend this….it kills the back and cuts off circulation to the legs.) when I realize it is 10 pm.  I have been working feverishly for only about 20 minutes, and although I don’t make it a habit to watch TV while working, I absolutely must turn it on.  I have allowed myself one last television indulgence since going back to school 4 years ago and it is on NOW.  So, I turn the volume down half way and go back to my paper.  I am pretty much tuning out the show I so desperately wanted to see…..and it’s the semi final episode of the season!  I am so much more interested in getting this paper done.  (This little problem has really put a glitch in  my exiting weekend plans!!!!!)  I ended up working on the paper until 2 am, so I cannot tell you if this actually happened during my show or some other time during those four hours at the computer, but all of a sudden my brain registers something my ears have vaguely heard.  Could this really be happening?  My eyes dart from my computer screen to the TV.  Low and behold this is really happening! Despite how fatigued they are, my ears have not deceived me.  It is not an illusion.  What I am hearing is “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” and what I am seeing is the Levi commercial that we were just discussing in class the night before.  Who would have thunk it?  I stop, watch and attempt to register this timely event somewhere in my now overly taxed brain.  Writing about Walt Whitman and watching “his” commercial on TV at the same time; I could not have planned that in a millennium.

So what about the commercial?  My initial reaction is one of anger.  That is probably because the beginning of the ad is violent and confusing.  At first it appears that the characters are unsuccessfully attempting to fight off something scary, and then they appear to be running from something.  In the end they are just playing.  While the commercial’s cast of characters is made up of young people, and Walt is addressing his “tan-faced children” in the first line of the poem, that is where the similarity between the two ends.  By the fourth stanza of the poem Walt is telling his audience that they need to take up where their predecessors left off, “We take up the task eternal, and the burden andthe lesson.”  In the commercial the first three stanzas where Walt is beckoning to the youth to follow him, are read.   The fourth stanza, which is where Walt lets the youth know his intentionn for calling them, is completely skipped, then the second and third lines of the fifth stanza are read and it is over.  There are twenty-six stanzas in the poem.  How could anyone come to understand Walt’s full meaning in the poem from this ad?  How could anyone have the opportunity to appreciate what he was trying to do with his work by watching this one minute and three second video?  They cannot.  Unless the poem is read in its entirety it is not possible to understand its meaning.  The advertisers took a portion of this poem and attempted to fit it into their agenda.  They sorely missed the mark.  The visuals do not match Walt’s words or meaning.

The producers take a beautiful poem and mock it.  The characters in the commercial are not forging onward through uncharted territories, they are playing.  They are not depicted as doing anything to move this land forward or take their places in society as the previous generation winds down, as Walt is calling them to do in his poem.  In stanza twenty-three he specifically tells his readers that the call on their lives is not for fun, but for hard work.

                             Not for delectations sweet,

            Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious,

            Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment,

                            Pioneers! O pioneers!  (Kaplan 374)

Another aspect of this commercial that  is a mockery to Walt is the use of his work to sell clothing.  One of the characteristics about Wlat that has come through in my reasearch is that he was never interested in clothing as it pertained to the latest fashion or what was popular at the time.  I don’t see him as one who whould be honored to be linked to an advertisement for clothing.  Possibly if the Levis were presented in such a way that linked them to blazing uncharted territory, building a better world, or fighting against oppression he could appreciate his words being used to sell them.

As my grandmother used to say, Walt is probably turning over in his grave.  Anyone who compares what he was doing with his work to this commercial and says that television advertisers are the new poets is degrading him and his life.

I find one good thing about his ad; it gave me material for a Looking for Whitman blog post.

Late Night TV and Walt

Nov 16th, 2009
by janices.
Comments are off for this post

In the words of Sofia Petrillo, picture it:  Magnolia (that’s in NJ), Thursday, November 11, 2009, sometime between 9 and 9:30 pm.  I’ve just arrived home from my third evening on campus at Rutgers, Camden and have one thing on my mind, to get ahead in my Looking for Whitman work.  I have caught up in my other classes, except for finishing King Lear.  I am determined to finish my digital museum and my two new Whitman assignments by Sunday so I can focus on Shakespeare on Monday…..

I sit down at my computer and decide to check my email before beginning my project, only to find a note from a professor informing me that a paper I turned in a week ago was done incorrectly.  For the next five minutes I hesitate, think about calling it quits forever – this has been the most grueling semester I have ever had – change my mind and immediately get to work on correcting  the assignment.

I am now sitting on my couch, hunched over my coffee table, where my lap top happily resides, (I don’t recommend this….it kills the back and cuts off circulation to the legs.) when I realize it is 10 pm.  I have been working feverishly for only about 20 minutes, and although I don’t make it a habit to watch TV while working, I absolutely must turn it on.  I have allowed myself one last television indulgence since going back to school 4 years ago and it is on NOW.  So, I turn the volume down half way and go back to my paper.  I am pretty much tuning out the show I so desperately wanted to see…..and it’s the semi final episode of the season!  I am so much more interested in getting this paper done.  (This little problem has really put a glitch in  my exiting weekend plans!!!!!)  I ended up working on the paper until 2 am, so I cannot tell you if this actually happened during my show or some other time during those four hours at the computer, but all of a sudden my brain registers something my ears have vaguely heard.  Could this really be happening?  My eyes dart from my computer screen to the TV.  Low and behold this is really happening! Despite how fatigued they are, my ears have not deceived me.  It is not an illusion.  What I am hearing is “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” and what I am seeing is the Levi commercial that we were just discussing in class the night before.  Who would have thunk it?  I stop, watch and attempt to register this timely event somewhere in my now overly taxed brain.  Writing about Walt Whitman and watching “his” commercial on TV at the same time; I could not have planned that in a millennium.

So what about the commercial?  My initial reaction is one of anger.  That is probably because the beginning of the ad is violent and confusing.  At first it appears that the characters are unsuccessfully attempting to fight off something scary, and then they appear to be running from something.  In the end they are just playing.  While the commercial’s cast of characters is made up of young people, and Walt is addressing his “tan-faced children” in the first line of the poem, that is where the similarity between the two ends.  By the fourth stanza of the poem Walt is telling his audience that they need to take up where their predecessors left off, “We take up the task eternal, and the burden andthe lesson.”  In the commercial the first three stanzas where Walt is beckoning to the youth to follow him, are read.   The fourth stanza, which is where Walt lets the youth know his intentionn for calling them, is completely skipped, then the second and third lines of the fifth stanza are read and it is over.  There are twenty-six stanzas in the poem.  How could anyone come to understand Walt’s full meaning in the poem from this ad?  How could anyone have the opportunity to appreciate what he was trying to do with his work by watching this one minute and three second video?  They cannot.  Unless the poem is read in its entirety it is not possible to understand its meaning.  The advertisers took a portion of this poem and attempted to fit it into their agenda.  They sorely missed the mark.  The visuals do not match Walt’s words or meaning.

The producers take a beautiful poem and mock it.  The characters in the commercial are not forging onward through uncharted territories, they are playing.  They are not depicted as doing anything to move this land forward or take their places in society as the previous generation winds down, as Walt is calling them to do in his poem.  In stanza twenty-three he specifically tells his readers that the call on their lives is not for fun, but for hard work.

                             Not for delectations sweet,

            Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious,

            Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment,

                            Pioneers! O pioneers!  (Kaplan 374)

Another aspect of this commercial that  is a mockery to Walt is the use of his work to sell clothing.  One of the characteristics about Wlat that has come through in my reasearch is that he was never interested in clothing as it pertained to the latest fashion or what was popular at the time.  I don’t see him as one who whould be honored to be linked to an advertisement for clothing.  Possibly if the Levis were presented in such a way that linked them to blazing uncharted territory, building a better world, or fighting against oppression he could appreciate his words being used to sell them.

As my grandmother used to say, Walt is probably turning over in his grave.  Anyone who compares what he was doing with his work to this commercial and says that television advertisers are the new poets is degrading him and his life.

I find one good thing about his ad; it gave me material for a Looking for Whitman blog post.

Late Night TV and Walt

Nov 16th, 2009
by janices.
Comments are off for this post

In the words of Sofia Petrillo, picture it:  Magnolia (that’s in NJ), Thursday, November 11, 2009, sometime between 9 and 9:30 pm.  I’ve just arrived home from my third evening on campus at Rutgers, Camden and have one thing on my mind, to get ahead in my Looking for Whitman work.  I have caught up in my other classes, except for finishing King Lear.  I am determined to finish my digital museum and my two new Whitman assignments by Sunday so I can focus on Shakespeare on Monday…..

I sit down at my computer and decide to check my email before beginning my project, only to find a note from a professor informing me that a paper I turned in a week ago was done incorrectly.  For the next five minutes I hesitate, think about calling it quits forever – this has been the most grueling semester I have ever had – change my mind and immediately get to work on correcting  the assignment.

I am now sitting on my couch, hunched over my coffee table, where my lap top happily resides, (I don’t recommend this….it kills the back and cuts off circulation to the legs.) when I realize it is 10 pm.  I have been working feverishly for only about 20 minutes, and although I don’t make it a habit to watch TV while working, I absolutely must turn it on.  I have allowed myself one last television indulgence since going back to school 4 years ago and it is on NOW.  So, I turn the volume down half way and go back to my paper.  I am pretty much tuning out the show I so desperately wanted to see…..and it’s the semi final episode of the season!  I am so much more interested in getting this paper done.  (This little problem has really put a glitch in  my exiting weekend plans!!!!!)  I ended up working on the paper until 2 am, so I cannot tell you if this actually happened during my show or some other time during those four hours at the computer, but all of a sudden my brain registers something my ears have vaguely heard.  Could this really be happening?  My eyes dart from my computer screen to the TV.  Low and behold this is really happening! Despite how fatigued they are, my ears have not deceived me.  It is not an illusion.  What I am hearing is “Pioneers! O Pioneers!” and what I am seeing is the Levi commercial that we were just discussing in class the night before.  Who would have thunk it?  I stop, watch and attempt to register this timely event somewhere in my now overly taxed brain.  Writing about Walt Whitman and watching “his” commercial on TV at the same time; I could not have planned that in a millennium.

So what about the commercial?  My initial reaction is one of anger.  That is probably because the beginning of the ad is violent and confusing.  At first it appears that the characters are unsuccessfully attempting to fight off something scary, and then they appear to be running from something.  In the end they are just playing.  While the commercial’s cast of characters is made up of young people, and Walt is addressing his “tan-faced children” in the first line of the poem, that is where the similarity between the two ends.  By the fourth stanza of the poem Walt is telling his audience that they need to take up where their predecessors left off, “We take up the task eternal, and the burden andthe lesson.”  In the commercial the first three stanzas where Walt is beckoning to the youth to follow him, are read.   The fourth stanza, which is where Walt lets the youth know his intentionn for calling them, is completely skipped, then the second and third lines of the fifth stanza are read and it is over.  There are twenty-six stanzas in the poem.  How could anyone come to understand Walt’s full meaning in the poem from this ad?  How could anyone have the opportunity to appreciate what he was trying to do with his work by watching this one minute and three second video?  They cannot.  Unless the poem is read in its entirety it is not possible to understand its meaning.  The advertisers took a portion of this poem and attempted to fit it into their agenda.  They sorely missed the mark.  The visuals do not match Walt’s words or meaning.

The producers take a beautiful poem and mock it.  The characters in the commercial are not forging onward through uncharted territories, they are playing.  They are not depicted as doing anything to move this land forward or take their places in society as the previous generation winds down, as Walt is calling them to do in his poem.  In stanza twenty-three he specifically tells his readers that the call on their lives is not for fun, but for hard work.

                             Not for delectations sweet,

            Not the cushion and the slipper, not the peaceful and the studious,

            Not the riches safe and palling, not for us the tame enjoyment,

                            Pioneers! O pioneers!  (Kaplan 374)

Another aspect of this commercial that  is a mockery to Walt is the use of his work to sell clothing.  One of the characteristics about Wlat that has come through in my reasearch is that he was never interested in clothing as it pertained to the latest fashion or what was popular at the time.  I don’t see him as one who whould be honored to be linked to an advertisement for clothing.  Possibly if the Levis were presented in such a way that linked them to blazing uncharted territory, building a better world, or fighting against oppression he could appreciate his words being used to sell them.

As my grandmother used to say, Walt is probably turning over in his grave.  Anyone who compares what he was doing with his work to this commercial and says that television advertisers are the new poets is degrading him and his life.

I find one good thing about his ad; it gave me material for a Looking for Whitman blog post.

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