eas §=6 WALT WHITMAN AND ‘THE BIRTH OF MODERN AMERICAN POETRY COURSE GUIDE Walt Whitman and the Birth of Modern American Poetry Professor Karen Karbiener Professor Karen Karbiener ‘OLUMBIA UNIVERSITY “To scum this couract web pope at ‘wowvemodernicholarcom tse this pasoword: 1054KKR_—_Ri ped by JB-24601‘Wat wnan and ne Birt of Magen Anercan Poy Protessr Karen Katee ean ‘ona F Cannan recor Mathew Comer CcouRsE GUDE. Cortring Er Jes Galagher Design - Ecard ite Research -Lymn Mera) Lec contr 204 Kaen Kana course Syiabus Wot Wstman andthe Bh of Modan American Posty Aout You Ptesor Lecture 1 Usner pee mran Sears One Pape Lecture 2. The Revlon a he Fiat Eton: trans Lever of Gree zi Lecture 3 Ema, When, ae the Beings ‘fe nga meen eat Lectle S Saxie he Roc WA. Lecre 6 Wma War Lecture 7 Sarna in Boston: Whitman ané Cansrsip Lecture 8 Gln Bok Leong Foran Witan an he romeo Ame a. Lectre 9 Whiran Arona he Modes ‘ase oleae Reap to Whiran Lect 11 From Bara Yan o“How z Lect 12 whaman, Visual Foes, and he New Yok Seo Lecture 18 singing the Songs ‘ras mone en Modem Arran Muse Leow 1 1 Sep erewtar Wateg fr You ‘Whar Enaing Presa, . ran Ondo. 2 Notes 0% 1828 4058 est 7501 e287About Your Professor Karen Karbiener PoessorKarienr teaches at Now York Universily ana as led specal couse on th legacy of Wak Wan i Now York iy ot Courbia Usversty, A sdholar of Romaniiam and aces! cual Tegaciea, ae ete ganar’ et of he fochzoning Eneycloeda ‘of Amercan Countoreuture. She gcurenty caraing ay exhib for the To0th anniversary o Leaves of Grass, ented Wat Whitman ‘ad te Promise of erica, 1885-2005, She Ives n hr hometown, New York Clty eee Introduction tn 1890, Tomas Aa Edeon used his nest iventon, he phonograph to record Wit Whaman reading four voses of his reat pom "Amerca On his recording, he aged Whitman suenened is faling energy to project in istry 2 (Gone vin of he courty he ved and celebrated ns post archi We Conte of equal daughters, equa! sons Ala ake doar grown, ungrown, young or Srong. ample. far. enduring, capaci, rh, Porannia’ wi the Earth, wh Freesom, Law and Love Chad inthe adamont of Tine. “Though Whitman was to de yar later, his voice ke his poetry, would ve con Boh nthe oyindes of Edson phonograph andthe Rost of every ‘Rmwnican post and ove of poetry who came ate him. Fort was Wha, ‘arang Wo Karen Karbener, who determined what the American poet and ‘Ameican pouty would be Hsien of America informed his vers, exemp fying the bee vinvas ana hight daao ef he county whows bith predated his wn by ony thy yaar, In tis course, Walt Wntman ard the Bit of Modem American Posty, well ‘explore how Wat Wan broke wh the tyranny of Earcpean rary fom estabish a broad, new voice for American oot. 8y towing ase he stl son ‘enton and eiehed meters ef od Europe, Walt Whieran resuced a via, competing form of verse one express ofthe nature ef hs new wold and Undiscovered counts, bah physica nd sirtual, imate ana ious pie. Passionate donocrary is what Whitan ‘called ns invention, and tke the Inve tons of Eason would ransorm not ‘ont he practices of eld Bit othe larger dmoncions af Anercan ie \intman named whet ae tobe ‘American he eaaiogued and indexed an ‘Sang and seed angie infuence on his contamporanies and his descendants transcends te Boundares of poetry and becomes, mary way, te story cf young Aerie, (0 course, Whitman didnot operate ina acu, Men ke Hey David “Thoreau and Raph Wats Emerson had sao embarked onthe grand pciect ‘of imagining the scope an promise of th republic. Our couse wl invest {9st how Wiiman's work ed int so mary ofthe concerns, both pbsephc ‘nd plical, ofthat gororation which took upon its shoulder he tsk ofa [ang the responsbies bem ofthe dreams eho founding fathore ‘Wal Wninan' fe spone some fhe mest turbulent day of te new ‘aunty rom eat yeas ota Cha Wart thenvenon of lea By craiing fe of Wal Whiman tho corto oF braod soa! an pol keacunge welt leam why he vues wa as contemporay Amercane pce were fen doe an eazy te prc fut hsbry. Bd gute Fe {tinny War whimen ard peopl ke Wt he ecoang They raid cur tues, sang our values, and exlaned 10 os wha eel ean tobe Areca, Int course wel do the same ting. By tesching people wnat Whitman's poetry means wel teach thor what makes America Amerca, Mote than jus 2 fistoryof one poet or a sty of work. th course wit prove a Famer ‘wake hvestgate the cut ermation of tha United Stato bt of te Spal enti. Te do so prope, we can it aursves to Whimon, After focusing on is if and werk fr seven loctres wal go on o explore nis influences onthe poetry are the word tat lowed. From Hat rane’ "Brooklyn Bridge’ fo Langsion Hughes and the Harlem Renaesence om the Beat Generation to the igh made, ike T'S. El and Ezra Pound, ad, inthe fl ecures, to inapted post of our own age, such as Adin Fich ‘and Yusel Kormanyake, wellock atthe sweep and Gveraty of Whitman's message. Every American poet who wrote verse of dsnton has in soma ‘way baen responding to the logacy cf Wal Wnitan Abad who wants to Understand American poaty has o understand where # came from, And what beter place to star than with is father Wak Whitman?