Tag Archives: "Song of Myself"

Whitman Would Embrace Trump’s Victims

By Robin Bates | Published: January 10, 2019

Thursday I wrote yesterday’s Walt Whitman post before hearing Donald Trump’s Oval Office address, which is why I find myself returning to the poet again so soon. Like the Statue of Liberty mentioned by Sen. Chuck Schumer in his response to Trump, Whitman’s Song of Myself serves as an antidote to the president’s racism and xenophobia. Trump, as […]

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Whitman Humanizes the Judicial Process

By Robin Bates | Published: January 9, 2019

Wednesday In a fascinating project described by New Yorker author Jia Tolentino a while back, a young filmmaker used Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself to understand Alabama culture. Touring the state, Jennifer Crandall had different people recite lines from the poem, including a drug court judge in an open session. I highly recommend watching the […]

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A Teacher, Lit, & a Jailed Student

By Robin Bates | Published: November 16, 2017

In “Reading with Patrick,” English teacher Michelle Kuo works with a student in 8th grade and then later after he has killed a man. The story brings up questions about lit’s impact.

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Obama Was Invisible to White America

By Robin Bates | Published: August 16, 2017

A Salon article explores how some of white supremacism’s rise can be traced to rage over having had a black president. Quoting Ellison’s “Invisible Man,” it makes the case that the right couldn’t really see Obama.

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Dear Trump: America Contains Multitudes

By Robin Bates | Published: July 4, 2017

To celebrate July 4, do not listen to Donald Trump, who preaches paranoia and exclusion. Read Whitman’s “Song of Myself.” His America contains multitudes.

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Poems To Mourn a Russian History Prof

By Robin Bates | Published: September 11, 2016

When a Russian history professor died at our college, his colleagues turned to poetry as they wrestled with his premature death. Ovid, Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev, and Walt Whitman provided powerful words.

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America’s Dream: We Contain Multitudes

By Robin Bates | Published: June 23, 2016

My Trinidadian daughter-in-law today becomes an American citizen. I welcome her with an excerpt from Whitman’s “Song of Myself” that contains multitudes.

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Memorial Day: I Am the Grass, I Cover All

By Robin Bates | Published: May 29, 2016

Carl Sandburg’s outward stoicism masks a deep grief as he memorializes those killed in battle in “Grass.”

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Lucille Clifton’s Song of Myself

By Robin Bates | Published: March 7, 2016

Lucille Clifton’s Whitmanesque “won’t you come celebrate with me” will inspire anyone who has gone through hard times.

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