Born on Long Island, New York in 1819, this year marks the 200th anniversary of Whitman's birth and 164 years after the first publication of Blades of Grass, and Whitman, known as the father of free poetry, appeared as a standout against poetic tradition. From the birth and development of D.H. Lawrence and Neroda to Chinese new poetry, his poetry has influenced generations of literary and artistic works.
Pioneer of free-form poetry
—Written on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Whitman's birth
Wen 丨 Xie Zhichao
01
As the second son in the family, Walter Whitman has the same name as his father, but in an ordinary family with many children and an average family, he is not particularly pampered, nor does he get more care and care, and is destined to grow up barbaric. Lacking strict discipline and restraint in learning, education and growth experience, Whitman's literary creation deviated from the academic aesthetic standards of the time, and was rejected and criticized by his peers for a long time, but all of this could never become a resistance to his continuous exploration and self-transcendence. The stubborn Whitman was destined to climb over one literary mountain after another and achieve his literary status as the "father of American poetry" in his long literary career.
Born in a West Hills village on the Long Island region of the East Coast of the United States, Whitman's mother, Louisa van Versol, was of Dutch descent, and his father, Walter Sr., was a carpenter, burly, reticent, and busy building houses and selling houses for many years, but failed to accumulate more wealth. The elder Whitman was proud of his good personal relationship with Thomas Paine, the famous philosopher and democratic thinker of the time. On June 8, 1816, the elder Whitman married Louisa, and after the marriage had eight children, Whitman was the second in the family. Whitman is the second son in the family, and after all kinds of friendships and true love from the European continent, he is still alone.
This extended family is difficult to describe as happy and happy. Everyone is saddled with different pains, physically or mentally. Old Whitman toiled all his life and did nothing. Louisa takes care of the housework, works hard and complains, and is the toughest and strongest. The old lady was not much educated, but she was determined, calm and optimistic, liked to tell stories, was willing to listen, and became a beacon on Whitman's growth path, guiding him from one goal to another, while she herself was always at home waiting for letters from her children, watching the world change and the clouds and breezes.
In 1855, Whitman suddenly published Blades of Grass, announcing his transformation into a poet in the midst of the world's astonishment. The poet contains 12 poems in this collection, only one of which has been published before. The theme, language and style of Blades of Grass instantly break the tranquility of the poetry world. All kinds of comments poured in, mostly bad reviews, saying that "Blades of Grass" was "a bunch of stupid and dirty things", "a bunch of rhetoric, egoism, rudeness and nonsense". Later, in correspondence with friends, Whitman complained from time to time about the unfairness of external comments, lamented that he was not recognized, and eventually implemented roundabout tactics in England to gain fame. Now it seems reasonable that all the unpopularity that Whitman suffered at that time was justified. Literary creation was a matter of high and low, and under the elite of Harvard College at that time, there was a place for the son of the carpenter of Xishan Village, who only had a primary school culture.
Blades of Grass 1855
Whitman only received a primary school education, and worked as a village teacher, an apprentice in a printing house, a newspaper editor, and an attempt to enter politics. However, the more unfettered the mind, the more receptive to new knowledge and the more creative it is. Throughout his life, Whitman has been learning, thinking and exploring, assuming that "becoming" is more challenging than "being", and that his subject matter transcends nationality, race, class and his time, and is more inclusive and predictive. It is worth mentioning that Whitman has been complaining that he is not recognized is somewhat exaggerated. He boasted to the media that the 1856 edition of Blades of Grass was selling well and that he considered himself America's most neglected poet in the 1870s to be biased. At that time, Whitman already had a certain degree of popularity, and he seemed to be better at using self-pity in order to get more attention and sympathy.
Stills from the movie "The Society of Dead Poetry" quote Whitman's poetry
Whitman's subversive poetry was not a whim, but intentional. He has personally admitted that "Americans are too thick-skinned and must write something special to stimulate their nerves" and therefore cannot put all the blame on the media and outside commentary. In Blades of Grass, Whitman will one moment talk about walking naked into the forest, and the other will describe Si Chun's girl longing for 28 men swimming naked in the stream.
Even Thoreau, who had a unique vision and a sharp mind, could not bear it, saying that Blades of Grass was "simply a beast talking." If Thoreau was a contemplative on the shores of Walden Lake, Whitman was a soul explorer in the hustle and bustle of the city, he started from the individual to explore the relationship between man and nature and the universe, and his aesthetic intuition was a faithful reflection of his mysticism, laying the foundation for the future-oriented "cosmic spirit" and cosmopolitanism.
02
What gave him great encouragement and confidence on the road to Whitman's literary creation was a letter written to him by Emerson, the authoritative figure of American literary criticism at that time and the soul of Transcendentalism. In the letter, Emerson praised Blades of Grass as "America's extraordinary, witty, and wise contribution to date." I read it very pleasantly, and great talents are always pleasing... I greatly appreciate your free and courageous thoughts." Whitman was confident that he would continue to revise and republish blades of grass.
He triumphantly published Emerson's letters in order to tell the world that even literary heroes like Emerson appreciated the Blades of Grass. Emerson did not expect his heartfelt appreciation to become Whitman's way of marketing "Blades of Grass", and was greatly dissatisfied, nagging that he had known that he should write the euphemistic "but..." section at the back of the letter a little longer. Emerson's kind reminder of Whitman's kindness did not in any way affect Blades of Grass's progress in its own style.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Whitman repeatedly revised and published Blades of Grass, which is unique in the entire history of American literature and even in the history of world literature. Each edition of it, from its content to form, can be regarded as a completely new collection of poems, a reflection of the continuous development and maturity of the author's poetic experience.
The changes in Whitman's poetic experience and life experience can be slowly tasted and explored by readers in The Blade of Grass, and can also be intuitively understood by reading his correspondence with friends and family, readers and even strangers. Whitman's account of body, soul, and love did not conform to the aesthetic standards of orthodox literature, and he himself did not look like a poet. Whitman hid his name on the cover of the 1855 edition of Blades of Grass and replaced it with a full-body photograph of the poet. Whitman in the photo is dressed in loose cargo pants and shirt, wears a hat with a sagging edge on his head, his left hand in his trouser pocket, his right hand crossed at the waist, and his eyes are staring into the distance, expressionless.
Poet's photograph of the 1855 edition of The Blades of Grass
The first edition of "Blades of Grass" directly covered the literary ideas of the literary elite from the cover design to the content. When Emily Dickinson was asked if she had ever read Whitman, she replied bitterly: "I never read his books — it's said to be very indecent." Who knew that this indecent poet would later become on a par with her "mother of American poetry," and the funny thing is that the two never had any interaction.
Whitman has always emphasized that "America is a poem in its own right in our eyes." With this philosophy in mind, his themes revolve around american civilization, history, and culture, and his letters witness important stages in the development of American culture. During the Civil War, Whitman volunteered at the Washington Area Field Hospital, collecting money and distributing snacks, daily necessities, and change to wounded soldiers, reading for them and writing family letters. He befriended many young soldiers, some of whom had been in correspondence with him after retiring from the army or returning home to recuperate, and several of whom had become close friends of him.
The war stories he heard in the hospital became an important source of his war-themed poems, and he knew better than many people about the psychological trauma of the war on the people. As an outsider in a brutal war, Whitman's compassion and salvage earned him the honor of "poet of democracy," though he never coveted it.
Of the thousands of letters that remain, Whitman's correspondence with his mother accounted for a significant number. The topics of his correspondence with his mother involved poetry conception, poetry revision, weather changes, food, clothing, shelter, and so on. He went out of his way to repeat the details to his mother. He never married, and the only pen-pal love affair that crossed the European and American continents was finally defeated by his own hesitant, cowardly, or cruel reality, and his dependence on his mother was even more severe. Louisa is an imaginative, storytelling housewife who has to deal with an emotionally unstable husband, a family financial crisis, and is busy taking care of her children with various problems. She was cheerful and optimistic in difficult circumstances and became the most ideal mother image in the poet's pen.
Whitman Manuscripts
Whitman's association with Mrs. Gilchrist can only be said to have achieved a friendship that transcends love. After widowhood, Mrs. Gilchrist read Whitman's poems from her friend Rossetti and began correspondence with the latter. Gilchrist loves House and U, and takes his three young children across the ocean to Whitman. The enthusiasm and good expectations in the letter were exchanged for Whitman's hesitation and courtesy.
After Whitman suffered from hemiplegia from a stroke, his range of action became smaller, and he relied more on communication and information exchange with the outside world. In addition to creating, the lonely old poet tirelessly chattered to everyone about his physical condition and asked each other for everything to be okay. It was really uncomfortable to be idle, so I begged the other party to find something new to tell him. His contradictory personality wants to be close to everyone on the one hand, and deliberately keeps a distance from people on the other hand.
Mrs. Gilchrist's arrival was like a spring sun instantly illuminating his lonely world. On impulse, he gave Mrs. Gilchrist the ring his mother had left him, creating an illusion for the latter, expecting happiness to bloom like a flower, and the long wait ended without a hitch. Perhaps, Whitman is more suitable to be a familiar stranger, a friend who looks at each other from a distance and is not as good as missing.
Whitman's friendship with the O'Connor couple is evident in their years of correspondence. During his early stay in Washington, Whitman often dined at O'Connor's house and was close to the couple. O'Connor went to great lengths to help Whitman get a stable job, eventually helping him get a clerical position in the Office of the Treasury Department in Washington. Shortly after settling in, the newly appointed Treasury Secretary Harlan discovered Whitman's leaf collection of grass that he had put in a drawer to revise and reprint, learned that he was the author of the "indecent" poem, and quickly found a reason to expel Whitman.
Stills from The Dead Poetry Society
Whitman, who could not speak bitterly, could only accept everything silently, but O'Connor was indignant and went around defending it. After the 1870s, Whitman and O'Connor terminated correspondence because of their differing views on the abolition of slavery. Whitman's complex emotions and wavering attitude toward black people became in some ways a stain on his perfect "democratic poet" image, he could not escape his time completely, the limitations of his white identity confused him between ideal and reality, and the reconstruction of American society during the Civil War and after the war became a process of continuous reconstruction of Whitman's poetic experience.
03
Whitman never tried to establish some sort of poetic system or theory because of his poetic achievements. It is difficult to read his writings on poetry theory, poetic views, and principles of literary creation in his letters, and his focus is mostly on poetry itself. Whitman liberated his poetic creation from the shackles of traditional rules and regulations such as rhythm and rhythm, and naturally did not want to consider a new theoretical system to restrain himself, and his creative concept marked a gradual departure from transcendentalism and Emerson.
After 1855, Whitman almost completely abandoned the standard length of traditional poetry and some punctuation marks, preferring to use prose-style long sentences and ellipses, which was particularly evident in the 1855 edition of Blades of Grass. In his letters, he preferred dashes instead of periods and ellipses, which were imitated by the later representative of the Beat Generation, Kerouac, who used the function of dashes to the extreme in The Book of Dreams.
Whitman made many literati and inkers throughout his life. In addition to correspondence, many people come to visit Whitman, who has limited mobility. On January 18, 1882, Wilde made a special trip to Camden to visit Whitman, who was living at George's brother's house at the time. Wilde told Whitman that his mother bought the first edition of Blades of Grass and read it to him. Later, when he was studying in Oxford, he savored his poems while walking with friends. Whitman was overjoyed by Wilde's praise, praising the latter as a "tall, elegant and handsome young man", and also took out the elderberry cider made by his younger sister to entertain, and the two talked happily.
Oscar Wilde and Jack Kerouac
Later, a friend asked Whitman how to drink the fruit wine, and Whitman replied very firmly: "Even if it is vinegar, I will find a way to drink it, because I like the young man, I can't say it." In a Letter to Whitman on March 1, Wilde wrote: "I must visit you again before I leave the United States. In this great country of the United States, I do not love or worship anyone but you. Wilde's reverence for Whitman confirms Whitman's influence and popularity in The British land since the publication of Blades of Grass. In his later years in Camden, Whitman was surrounded by a steady stream of visitors, with whom he was happy to chat whenever his energy allowed.
Whitman once encouraged himself in his diary: "You must be a force in this country — a force that is truly great — a force as really great as the president or Congress — greater than they are." "After the ups and downs of life and poverty, he finally became the truly great poet of his own ideals, and his foresight and modernity have had a great influence on generations of writers.
In his later years, Whitman tended to be conservative in his thinking, constantly writing his own life insights in a contradictory world. Afraid of loneliness, he even used the living expenses raised by his friends to buy a huge tomb in the town cemetery, planning to sleep here with the rest of the family under the name "Walter Whitman" in the future. In 1892, this kind, stubborn and somewhat withdrawn old poet walked through his seemingly bland but radiant life in the sickness, and the lines of poems in "Song of the Self" (once named "Walter Whitman") are the perfect summary of what he has done to himself:
Am I contradicting myself?
Very good...... I contradict myself;
(I'm big...) I'm all-encompassing. ）