Walt Whitmans America, David S. Reynolds
Walt Whitmans America, David S. Reynolds
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Walt Whitman's America
A Cultural Biography

Author: David S. Reynolds

Narrator: John Lescault

Unabridged: 28 hr 47 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/29/2019

Synopsis

In his poetry Walt Whitman set out to encompass all of America and in so doing heal its deepening divisions. This magisterial biography demonstrates the epic scale of his achievement, as well as the dreams and anxieties that impelled it, for it places the poet securely within the political and cultural context of his age.Combing through the full range of Whitman’s writing, David Reynolds shows how Whitman gathered inspiration from every stratum of nineteenth-century American life: the convulsions of slavery and depression; the raffish dandyism of the Bowery “b’hoys”; the exuberant rhetoric of actors, orators, and divines. We see how Whitman reconciled his own sexuality with contemporary social mores and how his energetic courtship of the public presaged the vogues of advertising and celebrity. Brilliantly researched, captivatingly told, Walt Whitman’s America is a triumphant work of scholarship that breathes new life into the biographical genre.

About David S. Reynolds

David S. Reynolds is a distinguished professor of English and American studies at the Graduate Center and Baruch College of the City University of New York. He is the author of John Brown, Abolitionist, winner of the Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award; Walt Whitman's America, winner of the Bancroft Prize and the Ambassador Book Prize; and Beneath the American Renaissance, winner of Phi Beta Kappa's Christian Gauss Award. He lives in Old Westbury, New York.

About John Lescault

Patrick Cullen, a native of Massachusetts, is a graduate of the Catholic University of America. He lives in Washington, DC, where he works in theater.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jonathan on September 21, 2012

This is one of the best books of its type that I have ever read. The scholarship that went into the writing of this book is just incredible. It is called a cultural biography, and examines Whitman's life experience and the culture in which he lived as influences on his poetry. Whitman lived in Bro......more

Goodreads review by Uwe on January 10, 2015

Reynolds shows how Whitman was of his culture and why he is an authentic American voice. Whitman gave the new country a new poetry, a poetry that broke the bounds of format and content. He gave poetry zest, a proud "I" and what we consider today, a healthy view of the body and sex. The cultural biog......more

Goodreads review by V on December 23, 2012

Man, I don't know why I stuck with this big, honkin' book. I love Whitman's poetry and was that more interested in this book after reading "Team of Rivals". This work could have been 1/2 the length. Although it does a fairly good job in presenting aspects of "Whitman's America". Reynolds provides wa......more

Goodreads review by John on December 15, 2021

A good biography of a complex American poet. I tried reading Whitman's signature "Leaves of Grass" a while ago and couldn't get through it. Now I think I know why. He's a terrible poet who spent his entire life trying to convince the American public that his poetry represented the essence of America......more

Quotes

“Remarkably informative…I marked on page after page things about Whitman and his America I never knew before.” New York Times Book Review

“Not only the best book on Whitman in over a generation, but also one of the most valuable studies in American cultural history of the last decade.” Charles Capper, Reviews in American History

“Reynolds has given us one of the best portraits of our best poet…He is brilliant in finding so many new contexts for Leaves of Grass. A refreshing and welcome addition to Whitman scholarship.” Jerome Loving, Walt Whitman Quarterly Review

“Reynolds splendidly examines the culture that formed the greatest American poet and the great American poem.” Time

“David S. Reynolds is a brilliant writer and historian of unusually broad scope. He is a profound scholar, combining history and literary criticism to examine our country on all levels, all the while writing fluidly so that his books are a joy to read. I like everything about Reynolds’ writing. Try one of his books and see what you think.” Ann Rice, bestselling author of the Vampire Chronicles

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