Walt Whitman
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walt_Whitman
“In the body of the text he calls himself ‘Walt Whitman, an American, one of the roughs, a kosmos, disorderly, fleshly, and sensual, no sentimentalist, no stander above men or women or apart from them, no more modest than immodest.’”
“Modernist poet Ezra Pound called Whitman ‘America’s poet… He is America.’”
“Geologist John Peter Lesley wrote to Emerson, calling the book ‘trashy, profane & obscene’ and the author ‘a pretentious ass.’”
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Whitman is one of my favorite poets. He was unabashedly open about sexuality and challenged the notion that heterosexual, monogamous relationships were the only socially acceptable way to enjoy sex without being some sort of deviant. He’s also rambling, intensely introspectively self-involved, and pretty much awesome. Except for advocating temperance… but I’ll forgive him that.
One of my favorites:
I too am not a bit tamed—I too am untranslatable;
I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops
Oh, and for you young’uns, if you’ve never seen Dead Poets Society, I suggest you Netflix it. Whitman’s poem O Captain! My Captain! features prominently. And Robin Williams is not shout-y/slapstick-y/obnoxious-y. And, it’s fantastic. And, you might cry.
P.S. I write poetry, I’m not gonna lie. Do any of you write? Care to share a link or a sample of something?
