“These United States are themselves the greatest poem.” When Walt Whitman wrote this line, he was an unknown Brooklyn newspaper man. But his work would transform American poetry and offer a new vision of American identity—one that was diverse, urban, and embodied. In this episode, Harvard professor Elisa New discusses Walt Whitman’s legacy. Elisa New is the Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature at Harvard University. She is the creator and host of the TV show Poetry in America, and author of The Line's Eye: Poetic Experience, American Sight and New England, Beyond Criticism: Rereading America's First Literature. See more information on our website, WritLarge.fm.
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