Minor Prophecy: Walt Whitman's New American ReligionIndiana University Press, 1989 - 240 pages Many of Walt Whitman's earliest readers hailed him as a religious prophet. For them, Leaves of Grass was more than literary art; it was sacred scripture. Recent scholarship has, however, dismissed those early enthusiasts as naive, if not crazy. David Kuebrich's new study of Whitman corrects that academic oversight by giving the early Whitmanites their due as the critics who most clearly perceived the nature and purpose of the poet's labors—to begin a new religion. Kuebrich's thorough, intelligent study, based squarely on textual evidence, offers a revisionist interpretation of America's great poet, returning religious vision and spirituality to the center of Whitman studies. |
From inside the book
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Page 2
... early Whitmanites deserve a more sympathetic evaluation . Certainly they made their mistakes . They overvalued Whitman in likening him to such major religious founders as Christ or the Buddha . A more serious shortcoming was their ...
... early Whitmanites deserve a more sympathetic evaluation . Certainly they made their mistakes . They overvalued Whitman in likening him to such major religious founders as Christ or the Buddha . A more serious shortcoming was their ...
Page 28
... early nineteenth - century America , there were the indisputable facts of large - scale geographical expansion , technological devel- opment , and demographic growth . The ideological legacy of early American nationalism , with its ...
... early nineteenth - century America , there were the indisputable facts of large - scale geographical expansion , technological devel- opment , and demographic growth . The ideological legacy of early American nationalism , with its ...
Page 34
... early use of this millennial tradition is that he extends the process of politicizing the millennium . The Protestant faith is not mentioned , and political liberty , not piety , is the essence of the mil- lennial character . In the early ...
... early use of this millennial tradition is that he extends the process of politicizing the millennium . The Protestant faith is not mentioned , and political liberty , not piety , is the essence of the mil- lennial character . In the early ...
Contents
Reconsidering Whitmans Intention | 1 |
A New Religion | 12 |
Interpreting Historys Meaning | 27 |
Copyright | |
8 other sections not shown
Common terms and phrases
afterlife American antebellum argued asserts belief body Brooklyn Daily Eagle Calamus Christian mysticism church Civil conceived consciousness cosmology Cradle creation critics culture democracy Democratic depicts describes discussion divine earlier earth edition Emerson Emory Holloway ence Essays evolutionary existence faith freedom Gay Wilson Allen God's homosexual human human sexuality Ibid ideas immanent immortality interpretation Kuebrich later Leaves of Grass Lilacs literature male manly love millennial millennialist millennium Miller modern moral nation natural fact night passage perfect perfectionism phrenology poem's poems poet poet's poetic political present Press proclaim progress prophet race Ralph Waldo Emerson readers realization reform religion religious cosmology religious democracy religious experience religious symbols religious vision sense sexual society Song soul soul's spiritual development stars suggests theme theory thought tion traditional transcendent understanding Union Univ universe Walt Whitman Whit Whitman believed Whitman's poetry women world view York