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RE: Song of Myself: In Cadence with the Present
Walt Whitman was a free spirit and in his time he was not only admired for this... He had the audacity to incorporate eroticism and desire into his poetry as if they were the most natural things in the world. Because they are the most natural thing in the world ;-)) He opposed convention and philistinism, bigotry and hypocrisy.
Perhaps you've already guessed: I hold him in high esteem!
Oh, Weiss! He was not only a keen observer of life but also of men (the human body in particular). I’ve never read anyone who provides such detailed accounts of the most seemingly insignificant things—nothing, not even the smallest details, escapes his notice.
I was so intrigued by what you said that I looked it up😅I’m not sure if this is the exact poem you were referring to, but I Sing the Body Electric fits your description perfectly. Here's an excerpt which is kind of something (am I allowed to post this here?)
"Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs,
negligent falling hands —all diffused . . . . mine too diffused,
Ebb stung by the flow, and flow stung by the ebb . . . .
loveflesh swelling and deliciously aching,
Limitless limpid jets of love hot and enormous . . . .
quivering jelly of love . . . white-blow and delirious juice,
Bridegroom-night of love working surely and softly into the prostrate
dawn, Undulating into the willing and yielding day,
Lost in the cleave of the clasping and sweetfleshed day."
You know, I don’t think I could ever procure such words so naturally, even in a lifetime.
Simply beautiful... Perhaps interesting for you: Whitman sounds far less poetic in the German translation. One should definitely read it in the original language in order to grasp its depth.
Oh, is that so? Language can sometimes become a real barrier.
I can't help but wonder—was this poem intentionally written for women? I mean, his detailed descriptions of the male form seem far more exceptional than those of the female...
... Whitman was gay.
wait, what?
I should've known that...
It wasn't a secret even back then, which is why he was widely despised. That is, except by more liberal and modern-thinking free spirits. Today it is common knowledge (or so I thought ;-))
https://www.amazon.de/Walt-Whitman-Life-Gary-Schmidgall/dp/0525943730
Oh, man...I'm a bit embarrassed right now...I usually do my research though but I kinda skipped because it's poetry...
Thanks for the reference..I'll search for an ebook
No problem - it happens to the best ;-))
Enjoy reading without deeper gossip insides ;-))