Thu 5 Nov 2009
(Marko Skrbic photography)
Some time ago I made a promise to myself… Actually a few of them, some kind of a New Year’s resolution. “I will try to write a letter to one of my favorite illustrators (Brian Froud), I will finally stop biting my nails and I will definitely become a blogger.” I’m starting that letter for the hundredth time now, my nails are getting shorter and shorter, but at least I have this blog!
“Trippers and askers surround me,
People I meet…. the effect upon me of my early life…. or the ward and
city I live in…. or the nation,
The latest news…. discoveries, inventions, societies…. authors old and new,
My dinner, dress, associates, looks, compliments, dues,
The real or fancied indifference of some man or woman I love,
The sickness of one of my folks – or of myself…. or ill-doing…. or loss
or lack of money…. or depressions or exaltations,
They come to me days and nights and go from me again,
But they are not the Me myself.”
Song of Myself. (1855)
Try reading it without the ellipses… It’s just not the same. Not only the words, but the design of the sentences as well talks about the connection between the physical and the spiritual. Whitman was trying to put his soul on paper, to connect the two, to make you read his thoughts. In the 1891 “Death-bed” Edition of Leaves of Grass he omits the ellipses and only then do we see how this passage becomes harder to relate to. The personal and individual touch is lost, the pauses he deliberately prolonged are gone and the magic is just not there any more.
November 5th, 2009 at 17:39
Indira, you’ve hit upon one of the “Gemini passages”, as I call them (Walt was born on 31 May). You’re so right about the inward turn that’s afforded by the ellipses… the slowing down, the pensiveness, the dive down. I think he’s finding his way to a difficult idea: that one person can be two different people, or maybe even three, or four (“do I contradict myself?”). The big question remains, who the ‘me myself’ actually is… Walt the man? The idealized speaker of these lines? Or me (particularly if I read these lines aloud, as Whitman wanted me to do)? Well! –thanks for this thought-provoking note.
November 6th, 2009 at 08:23
I just love the way you read Whitman. And I really think you ought to write that letter
November 6th, 2009 at 15:08
I am way impressed that you looked it up in the “Death-bed” edition – good job!
It is particularly interesting how “meddling” with the form can influence the general perception of the poem. I am definitely interested in that concerning prose writing, but it’s highly effective in poetry too.
Once again, good work!
November 19th, 2009 at 12:04
Your photo is so good!
Amazing…
<3
October 7th, 2010 at 13:10
Awesome Post, thanks for the useful Post. I will come back soon .. Great tips also : stop biting your nails