Standing Upon America: Whitman and the Profession of National Poetry
Standing Upon America: Whitman and the Profession of National Poetry
Walt Whitman celebrated the pluralistic nature of American society, which he called a ‘teeming nation of nations.’ Whitman claimed that his poetry was a transparent ‘reflection and representation’ of the nation, and most scholars have taken Whitman at his word by reading his poetry as a chronicle of United States culture. However, Whitman looked more nationally representative from abroad. He secured his professional reputation as a uniquely American poet with the help of positive responses from British writers such as William Michael Rossetti, Algernon Charles Swinburne, and D. H. Lawrence. By studying its roots in his training as a newspaper editor, in his reviews of his own work, and in his transatlantic publicity campaigns, this chapter exposes Whitman’s American identity as an elaborate international fiction.
Keywords: Whitman, Walt, Rossetti, William Michael, Nationality, Publicity, Editor, Reviews, Transatlantic
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