Tag Archives: Transcendence

Oppen and Whitman

Henry David Thoreau, in a letter to Harrison Blake, discusses the latest edition of Leaves of Grass and reveals after a mostly congratulatory review: “To be sure I sometimes feel a little imposed on” (Walt Whitman, P. 156). Thoreau expands … Continue reading

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The Mystery of Oppen

This week I must say I was particularly fascinated with the simultaneously revealing and befuddling poems of George Oppen.  Oppen was the poster-child of what came to be known as the “Objectivist” school of poetry, which has been categorized by a lack of … Continue reading

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The Negro Speaks of Rivers, and much more

Of the many characteristics that stand out in Walt Whitman’s poetry, one of the most overwhelming is the importance given to the sense of place and connectedness that is found through examining one’s roots, and in the realization that all … Continue reading

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“To find me now will cost you everything.”

Channeling Anarchy through Whitman Specimen 1: The Ghost of Whitman In his 1980s poem, “Whitman“, Larry Levis sings the displaced Whitman. By the 80’s The State had taken Whitman and made him “required reading in high schools” only for inhibited … Continue reading

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