The Neglected Walt Whitman: Vital Texts

by D. Sam Abrams (Editor)

Here is Walt Whitman entire, in all his contrarieties, the unsafe Whitman, Whitman the subversive, America's greatest poet. These 66 texts include 49 poems, 11 passages from poems, four prose texts, and one image-text. Some of the poems, such as "Respondez", are quite simply Whitman at his poems that represent the height of his passion and artistry; others, including the "Calamus" cluster, are crucial for illuminating the great sexual mystery of Whitman - for throwing light on the relationship between the "real" Whitman and the immortal persona he created in Leaves of Grass - "Walt Whitman, a kosmos". Yet most other currently available readers editions of Whitman omit most of these texts, all other readers editions omit some of them, and the "authoritative" Library of America Complete Poetry and Collected Prose omits all of them.
What is it the other editions are so afraid of? Together, these writings refute the standard assumptions about what kind of poet Whitman was, proposing a subtler and more complex portrait. The Whitman who emerges here is a more dangerous man than we knew before, not only a praisemaker but also an outlaw.

Genres: Poetry

188 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1993

About the author

Sam Abrams o D. Sam Abrams (nom complet: Donald Samuel Abrams Levy, Beckley, Virgínia Occidental, 1952) és un poeta, assagista, traductor i crític literari estatunidenc.

Reviews

[John Fredrickson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be a little puzzling. Abrams's intro seems to indicate that there is much to be gained by a consideration of some long-neglected poems and prose by Whitman. Abrams is in clear command of Whitman as well as Whitman's critics, but his line of thought in this book doesn't match with my reading of the material.

An interesting case in point is the treatment of homo-eroticism. It is true that in Calamus 9, the longing for his (male) friend is plain and palpable, but in numerous of the other poems, Whitman takes pains to make women in power and worth. Granted, his focus is on men as his interest, but his attitude to women and their rights feels exceptionally modern to me.

I found the poetry especially to be generally uninspiring, and sometimes even somewhat anti-Whitman in tone and outlook. The irony and negativity of 'Respondez' had me thinking it was a Whitman spoof of some sort. The essay 'An American Primer' felt much more like Whitman in the sweep of its tone and content, though it curiously exhibits Whitman extending his all-encompassing sweep of loving humanity to a similar embrace of the English language.

[Nathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fifth star in my rating applies not to the entirety of the book, but to Whitman's essay calling for a "perfect dictionary" inclusive of the slang he writes about elsewhere. While much of Adler's collection isn't that important to me, this particular text is crucial; its placement here makes the volume essential.