Walt Whitman in Context Literature in Context Series

Walt Whitman is a poet of contexts. His poetic practice was one of observing, absorbing, and then reflecting the world around him. Walt Whitman in Context provides brief, provocative explorations of thirty-eight different contexts - geographic, literary, cultural, and political - through which to engage Whitman's life and work. Written by distinguished scholars of Whitman and nineteenth-century American literature and culture, this collection synthesizes scholarly and historical sources and brings together new readings and original research.

Part I. Locations: 1. Long Island William T. Walter; 2. Brooklyn and Manhattan Karen Karbiener; 3. Camden and Philadelphia William Pannapacker; 4. Washington, DC Kenneth M. Price; 5. The American South Matt Cohen; Part II. Literary and Artistic Contexts: 6. Verse forms Michael C. Cohen; 7. Periodical poetry Ingrid I. Satelmajer; 8. Periodical fiction Stephanie Blalock; 9. Journalism Jason Stacy; 10. Oratory Leslie Eckel; 11. Opera Carmen Trammell Skaggs; 12. Performance and celebrity David Haven Blake; 13. Visual arts and photography Ruth Bohan; 14. Erotica Paul Erickson; 15. Notebooks and manuscripts Matt Miller; 16. Bookmaking Nicole Gray; 17. The literary marketplace David Dowling; 18. Transatlantic book distribution Jessica DeSpain; Part III. Cultural and Political Contexts: 19. Transcendentalism Regina Schober; 20. Philosophy Stephen John Mack; 21. Bohemianism Joanna Levin and Edward Whitley; 22. Gender Maire Mullins; 23. Sexuality Jay Grossman; 24. Politics Kerry Larson; 25. Imperialism and globalization Walter Grünzweig; 26. Nineteenth-century religion Brian Yothers; 27. Civil War Peter Coviello; 28. Reconstruction Martin Buinicki; 29. Death and mourning Adam Bradford; 30. Slavery and abolition Ivy G. Wilson; 31. Native American and immigrant cultures Rachel Rubinstein; 32. The rank and file Jerome Loving; 33. Romanticism Edward S. Cutler; 34. The natural world Christine Gerhardt; 35. Science and medicine Lindsay Tuggle; Part IV. Reception and Legacy: 36. Disciples Michael Robertson; 37. Influence in the United States Sascha Pöhlmann; 38. Impact on the World Ed Folsom.

Joanna Levin is an associate professor and chair of the English Department at Chapman University, California. She is the author of Bohemia in America, 1858–1920 and co-editor, with Edward Whitley, of Whitman among the Bohemians (2014).
Edward Whitley is an associate professor in the English Department at Lehigh University, Pennsylvania. He is the author of American Bards: Walt Whitman and Other Unlikely Candidates for National Poet (2010) and co-editor, with Joanna Levin, of Whitman among the Bohemians (2014).