http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/the-long-road-to-whitman/ Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:40:04 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/the-long-road-to-whitman/#comment-127 Jeffrey Sun, 01 Apr 2007 07:09:58 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=89#comment-127 Malcolm Cowley makes a pretty good argument in the introduction (I don't have it in front of me, but it's easy to find if you're interested) that Whitman's first version of Song of Myself was the best, that the revisions he made were detrimental. It's kind of an interesting introduction because it's actually quite critical (as well as celebratory). But the fact is I am not an expert on which is the best version. I can say I've read the 1855 version a number of times and it feels cohesive. Malcolm Cowley makes a pretty good argument in the introduction (I don’t have it in front of me, but it’s easy to find if you’re interested) that Whitman’s first version of Song of Myself was the best, that the revisions he made were detrimental. It’s kind of an interesting introduction because it’s actually quite critical (as well as celebratory).
But the fact is I am not an expert on which is the best version. I can say I’ve read the 1855 version a number of times and it feels cohesive.
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]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/the-long-road-to-whitman/#comment-126 Joseph Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:11:52 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=89#comment-126 I was arguing with a professor of mine last year over which of the manifold versions of <i>Leaves of Grass</i> was the superior one. I argued for the "Deathbed" edition, solely on the basis of comprehensiveness. I lost. What, then, are the supposed deficiencies in a work that was the last thing the poet touched? I was arguing with a professor of mine last year over which of the manifold versions of Leaves of Grass was the superior one. I argued for the “Deathbed” edition, solely on the basis of comprehensiveness. I lost. What, then, are the supposed deficiencies in a work that was the last thing the poet touched?
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]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/the-long-road-to-whitman/#comment-125 Daryl Fri, 30 Mar 2007 19:48:41 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=89#comment-125 Thanks for the pointers, Jeffrey. I'll definitely revisit Song of Myself with them in mind once I whittle my current backlog down a bit. Thanks for the pointers, Jeffrey. I’ll definitely revisit Song of Myself with them in mind once I whittle my current backlog down a bit.
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]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/the-long-road-to-whitman/#comment-124 Anonymous Fri, 30 Mar 2007 15:14:47 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=89#comment-124 Hi Daryl, If you do plunge into Whitman again, I would suggest Song of Myself, the 1855 edition. (I think Penquin sells it for like eight bucks.) Read the interesting intro by Malcolm Cowley, but avoid Whitman's own (long-winded) intro and commit to reading all 52 sections, commit to seeing the text through. Maybe think of it as a hike through a national park, and you cannot exit the way you entered. It might be useful to speak some of the poem aloud. (It would be great if you could get a friend to read it with you, though I don't know how realistic that is.) Revel in the child-like awe of section 6. Revel in the celebratory rhythms of section 24. Revel in the eroticism of section 11, where Whitman shrewdly invents a female character to filter his own desire through. If, after reading the book, you still feel cold, at least you know you went into it with an open mind. And hey, it will still be there if you ever want to venture back. Good luck, Jeffrey Hi Daryl,
If you do plunge into Whitman again, I would suggest Song of Myself, the 1855 edition. (I think Penquin sells it for like eight bucks.) Read the interesting intro by Malcolm Cowley, but avoid Whitman’s own (long-winded) intro and commit to reading all 52 sections, commit to seeing the text through. Maybe think of it as a hike through a national park, and you cannot exit the way you entered.
It might be useful to speak some of the poem aloud. (It would be great if you could get a friend to read it with you, though I don’t know how realistic that is.) Revel in the child-like awe of section 6. Revel in the celebratory rhythms of section 24. Revel in the eroticism of section 11, where Whitman shrewdly invents a female character to filter his own desire through.
If, after reading the book, you still feel cold, at least you know you went into it with an open mind. And hey, it will still be there if you ever want to venture back.
Good luck, Jeffrey
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]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2007/03/the-long-road-to-whitman/#comment-123 Daryl Fri, 30 Mar 2007 13:10:45 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=89#comment-123 I've always been pretty cold on Whitman too. A professor once told me that Whitman is like opera; unfortunately, I don't have much of a soft spot for opera either, though I see its appeal more now than I used to. Having just entered my thirties and resolved to try harder to read poetry better, perhaps it's time to give Whitman another shot. I’ve always been pretty cold on Whitman too. A professor once told me that Whitman is like opera; unfortunately, I don’t have much of a soft spot for opera either, though I see its appeal more now than I used to. Having just entered my thirties and resolved to try harder to read poetry better, perhaps it’s time to give Whitman another shot.
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