A Companion to Walt Whitman

Comprising 35 original essays written by leading scholars, this Companion constitutes an exceptionally broad–ranging and in–depth guide to one of America′s greatest poets. The volume makes the best and most up–to–date scholarly thinking on Walt Whitman available to students. It encourages them to be more aware of the contexts of Whitman′s work, and helps them to understand the experimental nature of his writings. The Companion starts with a section which communicates a strong sense of the poet′s time, place and history. The contributions in this section range over subjects such as national identity, imperialism, slavery, race, gender, sexuality, and popular culture. A further selection of essays situates Whitman′s work in its literary context. Finally, there are essays devoted to specific works, covering both Whitman′s poetry and prose writings. The Companion also includes a compact biography of the poet and a bibliography of his works.

Notes on Contributors ix List of Illustrations xiv Abbreviations of Standard Whitman Works xvi Introduction 1 Donald D. Kummings Part I: The Life 9 1 Whitman′s Life and Work, 1819–92 11 Gregory Eiselein Part II: The Cultural Context 27 2 Journalism 29 Douglas A. Noverr 3 The City 42 William Pannapacker 4 Labor and Laborers 60 M. Wynn Thomas 5 Politics 76 Gary Wihl 6 Oratory 87 J. R. LeMaster 7 Slavery and Race 101 Martin Klammer 8 Nation and Identity 122 Eldrid Herrington 9 A Theory of Organic Democracy 136 Stephen John Mack 10 Imperialism 151 Walter Grunzweig 11 Sexuality 164 Maire Mullins 12 Gender 180 Sherry Ceniza 13 Religion and the Poet–Prophet 197 David Kuebrich 14 Science and Pseudoscience 216 Harold Aspiz 15 Nineteenth–century Popular Culture 233 Brett Barney 16 Opera and Other Kinds of Music 257 Kathy Rugoff 17 Nineteenth–century Visual Culture 272 Ed Folsom 18 Civil War 290 Luke Mancuso 19 Nature 311 M. Jimmie Killingsworth 20 Death and the Afterlife 325 William J. Scheick 21 Twentieth–century Mass Media Appearances 341 Andrew Jewell and Kenneth M. Price Part III: The Literary Context 359 22 Language 361 Tyler Hoffman 23 Style 377 James Perrin Warren 24 Literary Contemporaries 392 Joann P. Krieg 25 The Publishing History of Leaves of Grass 409 Amanda Gailey 26 The Poet′s Reception and Legacy 439 Andrew C. Higgins Part IV: Texts 455 Works of Poetry 456 27 The First (1855) Edition of Leaves of Grass 457 Edward Whitley 28 "Song of Myself" 471 Kerry C. Larson 29 "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" 484 James Dougherty 30 "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" 496 Howard Nelson 31 "Live Oak, with Moss," "Calamus," and "Children of Adam" 508 Steven Olsen–Smith 32 Civil War Poems in "Drum–Taps" and "Memories of President Lincoln" 522 Ted Genoways Prose Works 539 33 Democratic Vistas 540 Robert Leigh Davis 34 Specimen Days 553 Martin G. Murray 35 The Prose Writings: Selected Secondary Sources 566 Donald D. Kummings Index 588

Donald D. Kummings is a Professor of English at the Parkside Campus of the University of Wisconsin. His books on Whitman include Walt Whitman, 1940–1975: A Reference Guide (1982), Approaches to Teaching Whitman’s ‘Leaves of Grass’ (1990) and with J.R. LeMaster Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia (1998). In 1990, his collection of poems, The Open Road Trip was awarded the Posner Poetry Prize by the Council for Wisconsin Writers. In 1997, the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching named him Wisconsin Professor of the Year.

“This book will be indispensable to Whitman lovers and students of American literary and cultural history.” Choice " A Companion to Walt Whitman is an erudite exploration of not only the works themselves and their reflection of Whitman’s era, but also the valuable insights they convey to present and future generations. Highly recommended." Midwest Book Review "A significant achievement, constituting a companion not only to the poet, but to the entire field of Whitman studies." Walt Whitman Quarterly Review