Is it Kosmos or Cosmos?!
Step #1: Documents
Like most others, it's the messiness of Whitman's notebook that initially stands out to me. Homie's words traipse across the pages without uniform, sprawling all sorts of directions; left diagonal, right diagonal, straight across; some lines adorned with spontaneous indentions, some paragraphs obeying invisible, entropic margins. It gives me the impression that Whitman thinks far more quickly than his pencil can express, occasionally stumbling over himself. With this in consideration, I admire Whitman's withstanding ability to be precise. Personally, I'm always working on articulation, generally finding that I relate a little too hard to, er, something like this:
That isn't the discernible case with Whitman, who doesn't outwardly manifest any traits of manual constraint or self-imposed boundaries. Whitman's lines are practically double-spaced, and the inherent spaces between his words are thumb-sized. As such, sentences that I would write in two lines take up whole pages of Whitman's notebook. This lack of an attempt to spatially organize himself, or even to conserve journal paper, seems to communicate the themes that we see in Whitman's poetry; a sort of dismissal of trivial axioms to the acceptance and embrace of a larger energy, a bigger picture: the proverbial Kosmos (Cosmos?).
Whitman's frequent sketches also seem to a sort of reckoning with the Kosmos (...Cosmos?!) In considering the overarching question- how does Whitman's poetry reflect his attempt to combine universal themes with the individual experiences and feelings?- the combination of self-portraits and rough depictions of mundane objects (the harp, the signpost) reflect an interaction between the self and the extraneous. Whitman appears to be untangling how our individual lives are bound up in our environments- and, indubitably, in the influence of others' lives upon our own.
Step #2: Notes
First off, in reading the notes, I fell in love with the simple fact that Whitman carried this notebook around in his coat pocket at all times. I think that the 21st-century practice of mindfulness has made voluntary writing a bit esoteric; self-care tutorials often advise you to put away time to journal at the end of the day, or to establish some other routine that mandates written introspection. That Whitman was constantly accompanied by his notebook is somehow beautiful in its minimalism and neutrality. Plus, this facet helps to contextualize the aforementioned question. I wonder how much time Whitman spent up his own head, fumbling for his notebook to write or sketch his thoughts upon a writer's provocation, rather than being present in the moment, in the experience of perception and observation as it inescapably happens to us. Is there a certain balance we should strike in attempting to make sense of the world and just... living in it? Accepting it? There again is the battle between the individual's desires and the collective's experience.
I also think the notes are indicative of Whitman's search for meaning within the Kosmos (COSMOS?!?!?) in how Whitman writes "to" and "for," not simply "about." At the literal level, Whitman often writes to Lincoln; however, he also personifies ideas into recipients, writing to Libertad, to the storm, for America, for the Civil War's fallen soldiers. Perhaps this structure is Whitman's implicit desperation to address the interdependence of the universe's inhabitants upon one another. In a time of such loss, it is understandable that Whitman would try and identify culpability for America's human injustices. On pg. 17, Whitman wrote, "Here stood Washington / The last war." In reading this line, I truly believe Whitman was attempting to make sense of America's breakdown in identity during the time period, and how impactful one's origins and past ("stood Washington") are on the future ("The last war"), as we see in his illustration of time in LoG.
In reading all of Whitman's written wanderings, I've concluded that although Whitman was certainly a literary genius, he was also just like the rest of us, trying to navigate the standard social narrative while deducing his own meaning in life. It's somewhat comforting to better emotionally understand Whitman's perspective. I find LoG frustrating, and the knowledge that Whitman was just an ordinary guy, trying to make sense of everything in his poetry, feels gently encouraging.
Like most others, it's the messiness of Whitman's notebook that initially stands out to me. Homie's words traipse across the pages without uniform, sprawling all sorts of directions; left diagonal, right diagonal, straight across; some lines adorned with spontaneous indentions, some paragraphs obeying invisible, entropic margins. It gives me the impression that Whitman thinks far more quickly than his pencil can express, occasionally stumbling over himself. With this in consideration, I admire Whitman's withstanding ability to be precise. Personally, I'm always working on articulation, generally finding that I relate a little too hard to, er, something like this:
That isn't the discernible case with Whitman, who doesn't outwardly manifest any traits of manual constraint or self-imposed boundaries. Whitman's lines are practically double-spaced, and the inherent spaces between his words are thumb-sized. As such, sentences that I would write in two lines take up whole pages of Whitman's notebook. This lack of an attempt to spatially organize himself, or even to conserve journal paper, seems to communicate the themes that we see in Whitman's poetry; a sort of dismissal of trivial axioms to the acceptance and embrace of a larger energy, a bigger picture: the proverbial Kosmos (Cosmos?).
Whitman's frequent sketches also seem to a sort of reckoning with the Kosmos (...Cosmos?!) In considering the overarching question- how does Whitman's poetry reflect his attempt to combine universal themes with the individual experiences and feelings?- the combination of self-portraits and rough depictions of mundane objects (the harp, the signpost) reflect an interaction between the self and the extraneous. Whitman appears to be untangling how our individual lives are bound up in our environments- and, indubitably, in the influence of others' lives upon our own.
Step #2: Notes
First off, in reading the notes, I fell in love with the simple fact that Whitman carried this notebook around in his coat pocket at all times. I think that the 21st-century practice of mindfulness has made voluntary writing a bit esoteric; self-care tutorials often advise you to put away time to journal at the end of the day, or to establish some other routine that mandates written introspection. That Whitman was constantly accompanied by his notebook is somehow beautiful in its minimalism and neutrality. Plus, this facet helps to contextualize the aforementioned question. I wonder how much time Whitman spent up his own head, fumbling for his notebook to write or sketch his thoughts upon a writer's provocation, rather than being present in the moment, in the experience of perception and observation as it inescapably happens to us. Is there a certain balance we should strike in attempting to make sense of the world and just... living in it? Accepting it? There again is the battle between the individual's desires and the collective's experience.
I also think the notes are indicative of Whitman's search for meaning within the Kosmos (COSMOS?!?!?) in how Whitman writes "to" and "for," not simply "about." At the literal level, Whitman often writes to Lincoln; however, he also personifies ideas into recipients, writing to Libertad, to the storm, for America, for the Civil War's fallen soldiers. Perhaps this structure is Whitman's implicit desperation to address the interdependence of the universe's inhabitants upon one another. In a time of such loss, it is understandable that Whitman would try and identify culpability for America's human injustices. On pg. 17, Whitman wrote, "Here stood Washington / The last war." In reading this line, I truly believe Whitman was attempting to make sense of America's breakdown in identity during the time period, and how impactful one's origins and past ("stood Washington") are on the future ("The last war"), as we see in his illustration of time in LoG.
In reading all of Whitman's written wanderings, I've concluded that although Whitman was certainly a literary genius, he was also just like the rest of us, trying to navigate the standard social narrative while deducing his own meaning in life. It's somewhat comforting to better emotionally understand Whitman's perspective. I find LoG frustrating, and the knowledge that Whitman was just an ordinary guy, trying to make sense of everything in his poetry, feels gently encouraging.
Wow.... great job.... Tbh I don't know what to write since there was so much everything. One of my favorite parts of this post is how you acknowledged that Whitman is just some ordinary guy. Reading his poems, I always imagine him as some divine literary being, but in reality, he is just some guy trying to understand his life. The analysis on this blog was phenomenal. I though I did a good job interpreting Whitman's journal, but this was enlightening. There were so many things that I didn't think about, such as the impact of his word choice and how he was trying to show how everything is connected, and reading this allows me to understand soo much more. Amazing job with the post it was a great read!
ReplyDeleteHey!! I'd like to start off by saying I really like the layout of your blog post! It was very easy to follow and flowed nicely (with the very funny commentary and pictures that really captivated me as your reader). Not to mention you are a GREAT writer! It was very obvious that you understood what Whitman was trying to convey in his notebooks and were able to draw your own connections and conclusions as well. Great job and keep up the good work!!
ReplyDeleteHi Anne Ross!
ReplyDeleteWow! Don't you have a way with words. Beautifully written blogpost, I have to agree with the conclusions you made about what you saw in Whitman's journals. I also really enjoyed seeing the connections you made between what you have read in LoG and his journals, from the physical appearance of the journal, to the content you read inside of them. Thanks for delighting me with the blogpost!
Oh Anne Ross I absolutely adore you. First of all, I love how you use language- you used homie and entropic in the same sentence. I can really just hear you talking throughout the post. It doesn't seem overly professional or funny and I really appreciate that. I also loved your picture, which is yet another Anne Ross provided reaction type photo I have decided to store in my camera roll. Of course your overall analysis of the journal and its relation to Whitmans work was spectacular, but what I really appreciated was your little bit about Whitman carrying around the journal with him at all times. It brings up the classic Baron concept of mindfulness in a cute, non-IB type of way, if that makes any sense. Finally I loved your reminder about Whitman just being a normal guy. Sorry this comment wasn't quite as poetic as your post. <3
ReplyDeleteAnne Ross,
ReplyDeleteI loved reading your blog post! You have such beautiful writing and your response was an absolute delight to read. I truly thought that your frustrations with reading Whitman's work at first to be super reassuring. Not only that, but you discussed Whitman's historical context and his disorganized notes which was spot on! Truth is, I was reading other blog posts before writing mine and yours was such a good read. I enjoyed the Cosmos references too, they made me chuckle. Overall, the structure, humor, and detail of your work was outstanding. You are such a great writer. :)
Anne Ross!!! I thought that this blog post was lit as per usual. One thing I really liked was how clear the pattern was between whitman’s hot mess notebook and his disheveled thoughts. Overall great job, keep it up(: lex
ReplyDeleteHey Anne Ross!
ReplyDeleteMy analysis of Whitman's journal was quite similar to yours. I also mentioned how I loved imagining him carrying his journal around in his pocket. But rather than assuming he was disconnected from the world because of it, I imagined he used it to escape his own head. It was interesting to see your perspective on that. I hope that you're doing well and that Leaves of Grass has become less of a struggle now that we are reading considerably darker subject matter. I feel like saying great job is overkill, you get the gist.