Minimal Nature in Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass
- Laura Soledad Romero
Abstract
This paper offers an ecocritical interpretation of Walt Whitman’s renowned work, “Leaves of Grass.” The primary objective is to delve into the multifaceted interpretations of this text within the broader context of Whitman’s literary corpus. Our research is grounded in the premise that the act of writing is intricately interwoven with the natural world, particularly plant life. Consequently, we aim to scrutinize the various manifestations of plant imagery and symbolism present in Whitman’s oeuvre. The argument unfolds across three distinct sections: the first section delves into the influence of Ralph Waldo Emerson on Whitman’s thought; the second section investigates the portrayal of nature’s principles within “Leaves of Grass”; and finally, the third section critically examines the assumptions and implications of Whitman’s poetic approach to nature. Central to our thesis is the assertion that what we term “minimal natures” not only shape poetic construction and life itself but also engage with pertinent political issues.
Keywords
ecocriticism, ecopoetics, new materialism, posthumanism, american poetry, democracy
Author Biography
Laura Soledad Romero
Professor of Philosophy from the Universidad de Buenos Aires. Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Literature and Critical Studies at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario. She holds a Doctoral Scholarship from the National Council for Scientific and Technical Research, Argentina.
References
- Agamben, Giorgio. Homo Sacer I. Pre-Textos, 2003. Impreso.
- Araiza Díaz, Verónica. “El pensamiento crítico de Donna Haraway: complejidad, ecofeminismo y cosmopolítica”. Península, vol. 15, núm. 2, 2020, pp. 148-164. Web. 18 de abril de 2023. https://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/peninsula/article/view/76604
- Augé, Marc. “Naturaleza, cultura y paisaje”. Revista Colombiana de Antropología, vol. 49, núm. 2, 2013, pp. 223-238. Web. 18 de enero de 2022. https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X70 DOI: https://doi.org/10.22380/2539472X70
- Bennett, Jane. “Of Material Sympathies, Paracelsus, and Whitman”. Material Ecocriticism. Editado por Serenella Iovino y Serpil Oppermann, Indiana University Press, 2014, pp. 239-252. Impreso. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt16gzq85.20
- Borges, Jorge Luis. “Walt Whitman: Hojas de hierba”. Obras Completas IV. Emecé, 2007, pp. 188-192. Impreso.
- Braidotti, Rosi. Lo Posthumano. Gedisa, 2015. Impreso.
- Cano Abadía, Mónica. “Cartografías ecosóficas y situadas. Hacia una justicia zoecentrada y feminista”. Ecología política, núm. 54, 2017, pp. 42-49. Web. 20 de abril de 2023.
- Coccia, Emanuele. La vida de las plantas. Una metafísica de la mixtura. Miño y Dávila, 2017. Impreso.
- Doudna, Martin K. “Nature”. Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia. Editado por J. R. LeMaster, Donald D. Kummings. Routledge Publishing, 1998, pp. 451-454. Impreso.
- Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Naturaleza. Nórdica Libros, 2020. Impreso.
- ---. “Carta a Walt Whitman”. Hojas de hierba. Galaxia Gutenberg, 2015, p. 759. Impreso.
- Font Quer, Piu. Diccionario de Botánica. Editorial Labor, 1982. Impreso.
- Gerhardt, Christine. A Place for Humility: Whitman, Dickinson and The Natural Word. University of Iowa Press, 2014. Web. 15 de junio de 2022. https://doi.org/10.1353/book33007 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/book33007
- Haraway, Donna. Seguir con el problema. Generar parentesco en el Chthuluceno. Consonni, 2019. Impreso.
- Iovino, Serenella. “Bodies of Naples Stories, Matter, and the Landscapes of Porosity”. Material Ecocriticism. Editado por Serenella Iovino y Serpil Oppermann, Indiana University Press, 2014, pp. 97-113. Impreso. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt16gzq85.11
- Iovino, Serenella y Serpil Oppermann. “Introduction. Stories Come to Matter”. Material Ecocriticism. Editado por Serenella Iovino y Serpil Oppermann, Indiana University Press, 2014, pp. 1-17. Impreso. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt16gzq85.5
- Kepner, Diane. “Walt Whitman’s Theory of Nature in ‘Song of Myself ’”. American Literature, vol. 51, núm. 2, 1979, pp. 179-204. Web. 20 de julio de 2023. https://doi.org/10.2307/2925583 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2925583
- Killingsworth, Jimmie. Walt Whitman and the Earth: A Study in Ecopoetics. University of Iowa Press, 2004. Impreso.
- Liebman, Sheldon. “Ralf Waldo Emerson”. The Oxford Encyclopedia of American Literature. Oxford University Press. 2004, vol. 1, pp. 475-487. Impreso.
- Manzari, Alireza. “Nature in American Transcendentalism”. English Language and Literature Studies, 2012, vol. 2, núm. 3, pp. 61-68. Web. 2 de abril de 2023. https://doi.org/10.5539/ells.v2n3p61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.5539/ells.v2n3p61
- Marder, Michael. Plant-Thinking: A Philosophy of Vegetal Life. Columbia University Press, 2013. Impreso.
- ---. “What Is Plant-Thinking?” Klesis. Revue philosophique, núm. 25, 2013, pp. 124-143. Web. 28 de febrero de 2023. https://www.revue-klesis.org/pdf/Klesis-philosophies-nature-6-Marder.pdf
- Meehan, Sean Ross. “‘Nature’s Stomach’: Emerson, Whitman, and the Poetics of Digestion”. Walt Whitman Quarterly Review, vol. 28, núm. 3, 2011, pp. 97-121. Web. 25 de mayo de 2023. https://doi.org/10.13008/2153-3695.1966 DOI: https://doi.org/10.13008/2153-3695.1966
- Moga, Eduardo. “Prólogo”. Hojas de hierba. Galaxia Gutenberg, 2015. Impreso.
- Moon, Michael. Disseminating Whitman: Revision and Corporeality in “Leaves of Grass”. Harvard University Press, 1991. Impreso.
- Mülazımoğlu, Melis. “Literature as cultural ecology: a cultural ecological study on Emerson and Whitman”. Journal of Awareness, 2021, vol. 6, núm. 2, pp. 95-104. Web. 20 de diciembre de 2022. https://doi.org/10.26809/joa.6.2.01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26809/joa.6.2.01
- Real Academia Española. “Paisaje”. Diccionario de la Lengua Española. Web. 14 de agosto de 2023. https://dle.rae.es/paisaje
- Whitman, Walt. Leaves of Grass: First and “Death-Bed” Editions. Barnes & Noble, 2004. Impreso.
- Whitman, Walt. Hojas de hierba. Traducido por Eduardo Moga. Galaxia Gutenberg, 2014. Impreso.