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Winner of the 2007 AAUP Book Jacket and Journal Show, Scholarly Illustrated
Why is Walt Whitman’s face as familiar as his poetry? In
answering this question, Ruth Bohan tells a story of self-invention
and portraiture. Whitman approached successive editions of Leaves
of Grass as opportunities to establish close, dynamic links between
his poetry and visual representation. Bohan shows as well that
Whitman, who sought out friendships with numerous artists, left
a legacy absorbed after his death into the fabric of American modernism.
Looking
into Walt Whitman provides ample evidence that the poet’s
engagement with the visual arts extended beyond photography into
painting, printmaking, and sculpture. Through discussion of Whitman’s
gradual emergence as an American, democratic, and radical figure,
the book opens new ways to assess his impact upon such artists
as Thomas Eakins, Joseph Stella, and Marsden Hartley.
Biography,
art history, and the history of literature come together in Bohan’s
rich, suggestive book. Based on years of research, it presents
valuable information about Whitman portraiture; the
publishing of his masterpiece, Leaves of Grass; artists’ responses
to his transgressive persona; and Robert Coady’s work on The Soil, among other pivotal topics. The many images, reproduced
in color or as duotones, will be of significance both to Whitman
specialists and to readers seeking
an introduction to Whitman’s role as a poet who vitally shaped
both the visual and literary arts of America. |
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