Democratic Vistas and Other Papers [Paperback]

Walt Whitman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2002

Walt Whitman (1819-1892) contributed to the greatest prose of American letters with Democratic Vistas, now considered a classic discussion of the theory of democracy and its possibilities. In this essay he protests the unrestrained materialism, greed, corruption and spiritual failure of what, two years later, Mark Twain would label "The Gilded Age." Whitman criticizes America for its "mighty, many-threaded wealth and industry" that mask an underlying "dry and flat Sahara" of soul. He calls for a new kind of literature to revive the American population: "Not the book needs so much to be the complete thing, but the reader of the book does." Whitman was one of the few writers to keep the Emersonian faith in individual and cultural regeneration after the Civil War.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Fredonia Books (NL) (November 30, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1410100669
• ISBN-13: 978-1410100665
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.7 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,417,293 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walt Whitman was born on May 31, 1819, near Huntington, Long Island, New York. On July 4, 1855, the first edition of Leaves of Grass, the volume of poems that for the next four decades would become his lifes work, was placed on sale. Although some critics treated the volume as a joke and others were outraged by its unprecedented mixture of mysticism and earthiness, the book attracted the attention of some of the finest literary intelligences. His poetry slowly achieved a wide readership in America and in England, where he was praised by Swinburne and Tennyson. (D. H. Lawrence later referred to Whitman as the"greatest modern poet, and"the greatest of Americans. Whitman suffered a stroke in 1873 and was forced to retire to Camden, New Jersey, where he would spend the last twenty years of his life. There he continued to write poetry, and in 1881 the seventh edition of Leaves of Grass was published to generally favorable reviews. However, the book was soon banned in Boston on the grounds that it was obscene literature. In January 1892 the final edition of Leaves of Grass appeared on sale, and Whitman's life work was complete. He died two months later on the evening of March 26, 1892, and was buried four days afterward at Harleigh Cemetery in Camden.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vision of an American democracy of limitless promise, February 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Democratic Vistas and Other Papers (Paperback)

Whitman proposed, optimistically, that America's shortcomings would be overcome in time: "by recognizing the worth of common people, dramatized especially in the selfless heroism of the Civil War soldiers; by cultivating both individuality and social unity; by having faith in the electoral process ..; by permitting women to develop fully in many ways; by seeing that America is steadily developing through its current practical, business-oriented phase toward a time when great 'bards' will arise, producing a true democratic literature that will instill much-needed religiosity and moral conscience into American life."

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Grandfather of American Poetry shares his Utopia, June 19, 2001

By 

"heramuse" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Democratic Vistas & Other Papers (Library Binding)

I will never have the right words to express my love for Walt Whitman's writing and mind. His, "Democratic Vistas", are a phenomenal piece of literature. He explores the concepts of a true democracy. He reminds us of the values of education, love, and unity. His democracy becomes a utopia for us all.

So far as his other writings. I found his short stories very interesting. I especially liked, Death of a Schoolboy. His journal entries are very moving. In particular his mentionings of the Civil War. The history Whitman saw in his lifetime was very dence. The perspective he gives among an explosion of change and advancment is enlightening. I think it should be a requirement for living in America, to read Whitman's Vistas.