Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was an American political writer and journalist, but is known primarily as a poet and reformer of American poetry (free verse without rhyme).
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| American political writer and journalist Walt Whitman. |
He is the author of the world-famous collection of poems Leaves of Grass , which has become the Bible of American poetry. His talent is recognized and admired not only in America but also in Europe. His poetry influenced modern poetry in two ways: the unconstrained style, the liberation of sexuality and instinct.
Whitman took upon himself the mission of being the voice of the voiceless, yet so popular and eloquent as the grass. His poetry appeared in the 1950s, at the very time when American literature asserted itself and blossomed with him; with Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) and Herman Melville (1819-1891), all three starting from the transcendentalism of Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). This philosophy believed in the divine potential of the free human individual.
Like many writers of his generation, Walt Whitman struggled to make a living. He was born in West Hills, Long Island, to a carpenter father and a Dutch mother. When Whitman was four years old, the family moved to Brooklyn. It was during this time that he began his career in publishing, printing, and writing.
From the age of 16 to 21, he worked as a teacher and wrote the series Sun - Down Papers from the Desk of a Schoolmaster. In 1841, he quit teaching and returned to New York City to work in a printing house. In 1842, he became an editor for the New York Aurora newspaper. During this time, he began to devote more time to poetry. He worked many jobs: carpenter, paper runner, teacher, printer, fisherman... He was a hard-working and self-taught person.
In 1855, when the book Leaves of Grass , which today has become the Bible of American poetry, was published, it was severely criticized. Whitman could not find a sponsor, so the author used his own money to design, publish, and distribute the book. Of the thousand copies printed, less than thirty were sold. Most of the hundreds of copies sent as gifts were returned. The poems broke all rules, had no rhyme, no rhythm. This first edition of the book consisted of 12 poems. The author introduced himself in an introduction, later called Song of Myself - flatly:
“Walt Whitman, a universe, son of Manhattan Island,
Rebellious, plump, love pleasure, drink and give birth to children,
Not sentimental, not above others, whether men or women, not separate from everyone,
Neither gentle nor indifferent.
He was roundly criticized by moralists for his return to cosmic instincts, his daring to openly praise sexuality, the physical part of which he considered as sacred as the soul.
The Song of Myself is the axis of the poem, expressing self-confidence, calling on everyone to measure their own strength to place themselves in the cosmic surge of nature. The poet John Greenleaf Whittier (1807-1892) threw the poem into the fire after reading the song. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882), the first American philosopher, who called on American intellectuals to be independent of Europe, courageously stood up to defend Whitman: “Americans abroad can return. An artist has been born in our country.”
Leaves of Grass (1855 - 1892) is Whitman's only work. First published with 12 poems less than a hundred pages when the author was 36 years old, it eventually reached 411 poems, before the author died at the age of 73. The poet asserted his American character (landscape, people, free government) and cosmic character (the fiery rhythm of life) with mystical concepts of ordinary and modern people, of the world of love and democracy.
The collection of poems Leaves of Grass is the only work of poetry that expresses the multifaceted aspects of American life and promotes democratic ideas. In the 20th century, Leaves of Grass is recognized as one of the most important literary events, creating a revolution in poetry, with the birth of a new poetic form - free verse, initiated by Walt Whitman.
Walt Whitman's poetry influenced many great poets of the world such as: Thomas Stearms Eliot (1888-1965), Ezra Weston Pound (1885-1972), Galway Mills Kinnell (1927-2014), Langston Hughes (1901-1967), William Carlos Williams (1883-1963), Pablo Neruda (1904-1973), Jean Nicolas Arthur Rimbaud (1854-1891), Federico García Lorca (1898-1936), Fernando Pessoa (1888-1935), Vladimir Vladimirovich Mayakovsky (1893-1930).
Source: https://baoquocte.vn/dao-choi-vuon-van-my-ky-8-272459.html
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