“An utterance, or an attempt at utterance, of New World Songs”

In “Preface-1872″ Whitman lays out his poetic goal of composing “New World songs and an epic of Democracy…”(647).  One could safely assume (or at least, I assumed) that he would continue on in a similar fashion about liberal democracy and linear progress.  And indeed, for the most part, these expectations would not be altogether dashed.  However, within the “Preface” and the “Calamus” poems, there is an undercurrent of cavalier social experimentation in conjunction with the not terribly subtle homoeroticism that undermines the otherwise standard narrative of American exceptionalism.

He disputes the value of working towards goals in life and encourages finding news ways of being and interacting.  “What is life but an experiment?  And mortality but an exercise? with reference to results beyond”(647).  Words of a lofty poet perhaps, but not the words of a cut and dry democrat.  He says of his poetry “if incomplete here and superfluous there, n’importe–the earnest trial and persistent exploration shall at least be mine…”(647). His cultural production then becomes simply an exercise without end–an attitude that seems to challenge ideas of liberal progress.

Whitman thrusts this attitude of disregarding outcome into his poetry as well.   In “Whoever you are, Holding me now in hand”, the speaker addresses an unknown “comrade” (probably/possibly male) about their possible love connection.  The speaker describes himself as unknowable and says  that few “…candidates for [his] love, (unless at most a very few,) [will] prove victorious…”(125).  In pursuing the speaker “the way is suspicious—the result uncertain, perhaps destructive”(124).  This is very similar to Whitman’s aforementioned views on life and activity and certainly evades simple explanation when put into dialogue with his more traditional views.

Whitman’s convoluted statements about democracy, citizenship and sexuality create lots of tension and ambiguity within his texts.  They also serve as the basis for American poetry–neat.

Also, just look at him.

Spring Break

For Monday, 3.22, and Wednesday, 3.24, we will be talking about Walt Whitman.

The majority of our work will come from the web site The Walt Whitman Archive.

For Monday, 3.22, please read:

“Calamus” poems in the 1872 edition of Leaves of Grass:

• “In Paths Untrodden” to “A Promise to California”
• “Preface,” which is posted on our Segue site.

For Wednesday, 3.24, please read:

• “Here the Frailest Leaves of Me” to “Full of Life, Now”

A more creative assignment…

The Walt Whitman Archive has an amazing collection of Whitman photographs.

Please select one of the photographs (note that there are pages of them).  Print it out.  (There are hi-res images on the site if you click on the details of the photo.)  Then, incorporate that photo into some sort of creative endeavor over break.  You might take a photo of Whitman’s photo against the backdrop of an exciting locale of your break; you might write a poem to the photo of Whitman; you might recreate the photo yourself; etc., etc.  There are really no bounds here.  Just do something creative.  And then post it to the blog.

The goal of this assignment is to prompt you to really consider and even interact with Whitman as a person, icon, and even celebrity.  In addition, I’m hoping to give you a break from being completely analytical all the time.  Stretch your legs and your mind a little bit, and try to get at the literature from a different point of view.  Sometimes it’s easier to interact with poetry creatively than attempt to analyze it in prose.

Things to be looking for in the reading

Obviously, you will be reading a fairly big chunk of text.  I would suggest reading the “Preface” first, and then begin reading the “Calamus” poems with Whitman’s ideas of democracy in mind.  We will explicitly consider the ways that Whitman configures sensuality, sexuality, and homoeroticism as vital for a functioning democracy.

Technology, Community, and Early America

I wanted to add some thoughts to those of you who are wondering, “Great, but how does all of this relate to sex and sin?” I hope that in part what is unfolding over the semester is a sense that the early national through antebellum periods were concerned about the bonds of citizenship: were men supposed to be in a kind of brotherhood of the nation? Is that what a democracy or a republic requires?

If so, then what happens as the country becomes more alienated, even as it grows closer in physical proximity? Do we become a nation of Coverdales–people longing for connection but unable to consummate human relationships for fear of physical and emotional intimacy? And if we are a nation of Coverdales, then how will our democracy survive?

The texts we have read (and will read) investigate these questions by looking at the bonds that connect us—bonds of kinship, bonds of sexual desire, bonds of same-sex affiliation. Many posit that there is something unhealthy or damaging about the heterosexual coupling (or the nuclear family more broadly) because coupling further isolates people and because it thwarts a larger sense of community (and often is devoid of physicality, sensuality, and intimacy, which are arguably also essential to a democracy). I think where these texts differ is on their views about what are the possible alternatives to the traditional heterosexual coupling.

So, the reason I have brought up all of these questions in relation to technology is because I want us to consider what we as twenty-first century Americans think of these issues and whether we believe that technology further alienates us and further thwarts the practice of good citizenship. In other words, does technology turn us even further into suggestible crackpots like in Wieland or further into ogling voyeurs like in The Blithedale? Or does technology, despite (or maybe because of) its non-physicality, bring us somehow closer together? In other words, can technology “queer” citizenship?

Andrew brings up some really interesting and thought-provoking models to consider in his post below this one. I hope you will read it and comment on it, as well as post your own thoughts.