Today is Walt Whitman‘s birthday, the 205th anniversary of his birth
The Walt Whitman Association in Camden, New Jersey celebrated it early, on Wednesday, with guest speaker Edward Whitley on the connections between Whitman and Poe
Whitley’s scholarship is among that included in the recently-released monumental Oxford Handbook of Walt Whitman
720 pages – The book begins with leading Whitman scholar, Ed Folsom (“Whitman Left To His Own Devices”) and concludes with Dara Barnat‘s essay, “Walt Whitman in Jewish American Poetry – Charles Reznikoff and Allen Ginsberg”.
As the publishers dutifully note:
“More than a century after his death, Walt Whitman remains a fresh phenomenon. Startling discoveries and massive transcription efforts are enabling new insights into his life and achievements. In the past few years new breakthroughs have proliferated, including the publication of a long-lost Whitman novel, Jack Engle, along with a hitherto unknown health guide for urban men and previously undiscovered poems. Myriad other documents have become more readily available, including largely unmined troves of journalism, narrative and documentary prose, and experimental note-keeping. Leaves of Grass and Whitman’s literary life as a whole are thus ripe for reconsideration.”
We celebrate with links to these previous birthday postings: – here, here,
here, here, here here, here and here
(and remembering in 2019, the Whitman Bicentennial)
“What thoughts I have of you tonight Walt Whitman..”
American Scream – Allen Ginsberg’s Howl and The Making of The Beat Generation, Jonah Raskin‘s 2004 Allen Ginsberg biography, is the subject of a retrospective review. Check out his interview with Rock and The Beat Generation’s Simon Warner, looking back on the book – here
Moloch – “Moloch, the incomprehensible prison…” James Stephen Brown ponders this quintessentially Ginsbergian theme – here
Caleb Carr – We note the passing of “the scarred and gifted son of founding Beat, Lucien Carr, who endured a traumatizing childhood and became a best-selling novelist” – Read his obituary notice in the New York Times – here – and in The Washington Post – here
We mentioned it last week, but here’s a further note, from Boulder Weekly, on the new Anne Waldman book, Tendrel – A Meeting of Minds:
“The collection also includes never-before-published poetry and recollections from Waldman as well as photos from the early days of the institute (Naropa). The essays, poetry and images evoke the energy of this charged intellectual moment in time, when writers were pushing the boundaries of American poetry. The time capsule is a fascinating look at these cultural figures as they built a monument to creativity and free thought…”
50-year celebration this year of Naropa and the Summer Writing Program