To Walt Whitman, America [Paperback]

Kenneth M. Price (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 26, 2006

Walt Whitman "is America," according to Ezra Pound. More than a century after his death, Whitman's name regularly appears in political speeches, architectural inscriptions, television programs, and films, and it adorns schools, summer camps, truck stops, corporate centers, and shopping malls. In an analysis of Whitman as a quintessential American icon, Kenneth Price shows how his ubiquity and his extraordinarily malleable identity have contributed to the ongoing process of shaping the character of the United States.

Price examines Whitman's own writings as well as those of writers who were influenced by him, paying particular attention to Whitman's legacies for an ethnically and sexually diverse America. He focuses on fictional works by Edith Wharton, D. H. Lawrence, John Dos Passos, Ishmael Reed, and Gloria Naylor, among others. In Price's study, Leaves of Grass emerges as a living document accruing meanings that evolve with time and with new readers, with Whitman and his words regularly pulled into debates over immigration, politics, sexuality, and national identity. As Price demonstrates, Whitman is a recurring starting point, a provocation, and an irresistible, rewritable text for those who reinvent the icon in their efforts to remake America itself.

Editorial Reviews

Review

In this analysis of the development of Walt Whitman as an American icon, Price examines Whitman's own writings as well as some of the writers and artists who were influenced by him, paying particular attention to Whitman's legacies for an ethnically and sexually diverse America. Includes discussion of fiction writers Edith Wharton, E.M. Forster, Ishmael Reed, Gloria Naylor, and others.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (September 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807855189
• ISBN-13: 978-0807855188
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.8 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,854,109 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Satisfies But Does Not Stupefy, December 2, 2008

By 

D. Knowlton "thevillagebookshop" (Florida) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Walt Whitman, America (Hardcover)

I come back to Walt Whitman,
What in the hell happened to him,
Wasn't he a white man?
--June Jordan

Here is something rare these days, like spats or an Edsel: a review of a book about a poet in a popular press publication. No worries though, this is not primarily about poetry but rather the arts, culture and social change in America. I might venture a review of a book of poems next time.

Kenneth Price's slim volume is not hot off the press. It is two years old, and viewable in its entirety, including photographs and notes, at The Whitman Archive. How's that for a bookseller subverting his own business? I went ahead and procured the trade paperback anyhow; for me, reading online gets old quick, and I never tire of the sensual experience a real book provides.

If you have ever wondered about the persistent hype regarding the 19th century poet in question, this is one of the three books I recommend**. Price reveals one surprising connection after another between Whitman, art, novels, film and even a speech by Muhammad Ali. With the sparse elegance of a poet, the author pinpoints the profound influence Walt's writing had on developments in gender relations, sexuality, race and creative expression over the last 150 years. Price emulates his subject, and calls up the marginalized identity in America and abroad, deftly empowering each distinctive voice.

It makes sense that, in this town (written originally for AnythingArts Newsletter in Sarasota/Bradenton), enamored as it is with art and films, readers will find To Walt Whitman, America engrossing. Perhaps the only thing some may find problematic about Price is that he has a way of making a reader hungry for more. That is a clue to the great thing about this cultural document. It satisfies but does not stupefy. He has effectively set out both the 21st century academic mandate for continued exploration of Whitman's influence; and, a call for the artistic quest of reinvention. Price reminds us that Whitman's malleability, explorations of passing, and centrality as an icon have made him irresistible for writers [artists and filmmakers] who, in extraordinarily creative ways, reinvent him for their purposes.

________________________________________


**The others are Walt Whitman: The Measure of His Song, Edited by Jim Perlman, Ed Folsom & Dan Campion; and Walt Whitman: A Cultural Biography, by David Reynolds.