Latest news with #LeavesofGrass
Scroll.in
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Scroll.in
Poet Walt Whitman used photography to curate his image – but ended up more lost than found
When I read and study Walt Whitman's poetry, I often imagine what he would've done if he had a smartphone and an Instagram account. Unlike many of his contemporaries, the poet collected an ' abundance of photographs ' of himself, as Whitman scholar Ed Folsom points out. And like many people today who snap and post thousands of selfies, Whitman, who lived during the birth of commercial photography, used portraits to craft a version of the self that wasn't necessarily grounded in reality. One of those portraits, taken by photographer Curtis Taylor, was commissioned by Whitman in the 1870s. In it, the poet is seated nonchalantly, with a moth or butterfly appearing to have landed on his outstretched finger. According to at least two of his friends, Philadelphia attorney Thomas Donaldson and nurse Elizabeth Keller, this was Whitman's favorite photograph. Though he told his friends that the winged insect happened to land on his finger during the shoot, it turned out to be a cardboard prop. Feigned spontaneity The scene with the butterfly reflects one of the main themes of Whitman's Leaves of Grass his best-known collection of poems: The universe is naturally drawn to the poet. 'To me the converging objects of the world perpetually flow,' he insists in ' Song of Myself.' 'I have instant conductors all over me whether I pass or stop,' Whitman adds. 'They seize every object and lead it harmlessly through me.' Whitman told Horace Traubel, the poet's close friend and earliest biographer, that '[y]es – that was an actual moth, the picture is substantially literal.' Likewise, he told historian William Roscoe Thayer: 'I've always had the knack of attracting birds and butterflies and other wild critters.' Of course, historians now know that the butterfly was, in fact, a cutout, which currently resides at the Library of Congress. So what was Whitman doing? Why would he lie? I can't get inside his head, but I suspect he wanted to impress his audience, to verify that the protagonist of Leaves of Grass, the one with 'instant conductors,' was not a fictional creation. Today's selfies often give the impression of having been taken on the spot. In reality, many of them are a carefully calculated creative act. Media scholars James E Katz and Elizabeth Thomas Crocker have argued that most selfie-takers strive for informality even as they carefully stage the images. In other words, the selfie weds the spontaneous to the intentional. Whitman does exactly this, presenting a designed photo as if it were a happy accident. Too much me As Whitman biographer Justin Kaplan notes, no other writer at the time 'was so systematically recorded or so concerned with the strategic uses of his pictures and their projective meanings for himself and the public.' The poet jumped at the opportunity to have his photo taken. There is, for instance, the famous portrait of the young, carefree poet that was used as the frontispiece for the first edition of Leaves of Grass. Or the 1854 photograph of a bearded and unkempt Whitman, likely captured by Gabriel Harrison. Or the 1869 image of Whitman smiling lovingly at Peter Doyle, the poet's intimate friend and probable lover. Some social scientists have argued that today's selfies can aid in the search for one's ' authentic self ' – figuring out who you are and understanding what makes you tick. Other researchers have taken a less rosy view of the selfie, warning that snapping too many can be a sign of low self-esteem and can, paradoxically, lead to identity confusion, particularly if they're taken to seek external validation. Whitman spent his life searching for what he termed the 'Me myself' or the 'real Me.' Photography provided him another medium, besides poetry, to carry on this search. But it seems to have ultimately failed him. Having collected these images, he would then obsessively chew over what they all added up to, ultimately finding that he was far more lost than found in this sea of portraits. I wonder if – to use today's parlance – Whitman 'scrolled' his way into a crisis of self-identity, overwhelmed by the sheer number of photos he possessed and the various, contradictory selves they represented. 'I meet new Walt Whitmans every day,' he once said. 'There are a dozen of me afloat. I don't know which Walt Whitman I am.'
Chicago Tribune
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Chicago Tribune
Retired Highland Park High School theater arts teacher directs Citadel Theatre play about two students
Directing a play about a pair of high school students seems like a natural fit for Lincolnshire resident Scott Shallenbarger. After all, he was the Director of Theatre Arts at Highland Park High School for 33 years before retiring in 2023. Shallenbarger is directing the two-person play, 'I and You' by Lauren Gunderson, which runs from Feb. 21-March 23, with previews Feb. 19-20, at Citadel Theatre in Lake Forest. The play is about two American teenagers. Caroline is homebound because of a chronic illness. Her classmate Anthony unexpectedly arrives at her home so that they can complete an urgent school assignment about Walt Whitman's 'Leaves of Grass.' The director offered high praise for the playwright's skill in creating teenage characters. 'She finds their depth, she finds their intelligence,' Shallenbarger said. 'And I love this about teenagers — even in the darkest times, they're able to find humor in things and they find each other as peers to walk through the darkness with.' 'I and You' concludes with one of the reasons that Shallenbarger wanted to direct this show. 'I can't give away any spoilers,' he said. 'The ending is an incredible, surprising, beautiful event.' Shallenbarger cast Jay Westbrook, a 2023 graduate of ChiArts High School, as Anthony and recent college graduate Amia Korman as Caroline. 'It was glorious every minute,' Shallenbarger said of his years at Highland Park High School. 'Highland Park is a very arts-supporting community. I was very fortunate, at the young age 23 when they hired me, that I was able to not only direct three mainstage productions a year in the afterschool, extra-curriculum program, but I actually had a curriculum during daytime classes that students could take that was a collegiate model of acting, directing, and playwriting training.' Shallenbarger indicated that he loved working with high school students at the school. 'They are so deeply passionate,' he explained. 'Their emotions are on their sleeve. They're incredibly honest most of the time. They're so open to everything.' Shallenbarger was so loved and admired at Highland Park High School that at his retirement celebration in May of 2023, the Scott 'Shall' Shallenbarger Award was announced in honor of his years at the school. The award is presented annually to a graduating senior to support their future education and/or endeavors. 'It was really exciting. It was meaningful,' Shallenbarger said of the surprise announcement of the award at the retirement event. 'I was so happy a scholarship was created for kids that could go on and pursue their arts training post-high school.' In his early years at Highland Park High School, Shallenbarger would teach during the day, direct the after-school productions, and then head to the city to direct off-Loop theater productions. 'I felt so lucky to get professional experience in those environments,' Shallenbarger said. 'Then I got older and had children and I was no longer able to do the evening work in the city. That's why when I retired, I was so excited to jump back into other work.' Shallenbarger was also active in theater when he was in high school. 'It actually saved my life in the sense that I came from a dysfunctional home,' he declared. 'I grew up in a rural northern Illinois town. It was a little provincial. We never went to the theater — we didn't have the money. When I started in the after-school program, it was the first place I felt I belonged — that my identity was honored. It became a very nurturing place. I fell in love with theater because I could be me there.' Shallenbarger praised his very supportive mother's role. 'She's been my cheerleader my whole life,' he said. He continued his love of theater by earning an undergraduate degree in theater education and performance from Illinois State University and a graduate degree from Northwestern University. And then, of course, he worked at Highland Park High School for 33 years, which Shallenbarger is convinced helps him to direct 'I and You.' 'I feel like, in my directing choices and in my actor coaching, I am able to intuitively guide these two characters without questioning their motives,' he said. 'I'm not suspicious of the characters. I believe in them.' For reservations and more information about 'I and You,' visit
The Independent
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Why Simon & Schuster is getting rid of book blurbs
When you pick up a newly published book, you'll usually see a ringing endorsement from at least one familiar name on the front or back cover. These short reviews come from well-known authors, who hail the new book as 'brilliant', 'moving' or 'thought-provoking'. Often, they'll say they were 'unable to put it down' — or something similar. These endorsements — referred to as 'blurbs' in the business — are usually sourced prior to a book's publication. Authors, agents or editors will approach more famous peers to request a few words. Some lucky writers will get a second printing of their book, which will include favourable quotes from reviewers — but blurbs from other authors are seen as vital. However, the newly appointed publisher of Simon & Schuster 's US imprint, Sean Manning, is rejecting this long-standing tradition. In a piece in Publisher's Weekly, Manning says his authors will no longer be required to 'obtain blurbs for their books'. Manning argues that 'trying to get blurbs is not a good use of anyone's time'. He notes that a number of acclaimed titles in Simon & Schuster's back catalogue, including Catch-22 and All the President's Men, were first published without any blurbs at all. Furthermore, he notes that the convention of the blurb is unknown in other artistic industries. In publishing, the practice 'creates an incestuous and unmeritocratic literary ecosystem that often rewards connections over talent'. Does Manning's decision herald a radical upheaval in the book world? Will his stance serve to liberate authors from the tyranny of the blurb? Words of genius In an essay for the Millions, Alan Levinovitz has considered the evolution of the blurb. Classical writers typically sought to connect their works to more famous figures through epigraphs and dedications. Levinovitz suggests that the practice of including praise for a text from a third party first emerged in the Renaissance. The famous humanist Sir Thomas More provides possibly the first recorded example of an author attempting to rustle up a favourable quote or two. In 1516, the year he published Utopia, More wrote to the philosopher Desiderius Erasmus requesting that the book 'be handsomely set off with the highest of recommendations, if possible, from several people, both intellectuals and distinguished statesmen'. This practice became widespread in the 18th and 19th centuries, when the rise of periodicals saw a boom in book reviews, which could be liberally quoted in prefaces. According to Levinovitz, the first example of an endorsement being added to the exterior of a book comes in 1856, with the publication of the second edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. A quote from a letter to Whitman from the philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson was gilt-printed at the base of its spine: I Greet You at the Beginning of a Great Career / R W Emerson. Emerson was apparently less than thrilled to discover he had unknowingly written the world's first cover blurb. More recently, Stephen King — himself an enthusiastic blurb writer — has cautioned against hyperbole. The protracted derision that followed Nicole Krauss's effusive blurb for David Grossman's novel To the End of the Land in 2010 ('David Grossman may be the most gifted writer I've ever read; gifted not just because of his imagination, his energy, his originality, but because he has access to the unutterable, because he can look inside a person and discover the unique essence of her humanity') might serve as a cautionary tale. Networks of affiliation While the practice of blurbing books can be viewed with scepticism, the importance of blurbs has gone largely unquestioned in publishing. Book sales tend to be driven by word of mouth, so it is often assumed the word of a popular writer will carry the most weight. But as Bill Morris notes, a blurb from a particular author might just as easily turn a reader off a book. Tastes are subjective and authors only have sway over readers within defined areas of interest. Michael Maguire's 2018 study revealed that blurb writing exchanges occur through close networks of affiliation around genres, publishers, geographical locations, and institutions such as universities. Maguire's mapping of the blurb economy supports Manning's belief that book blurbs tend to emerge from a culture of favouritism and mutual backscratching, but it also shows that influential authors are, on balance, generous in their support for novices in their fields. While several writers have questioned the necessity of blurbs, booksellers do apparently find them useful for positioning new titles. A quote from an established author can help booksellers promote and recommend works to readers. The famous names who can provide meaningful endorsements are few and highly coveted. Several authors have reported that the sheer volume of requests for blurbs they receive is unsustainable. Many write them out a sense of obligation, rather than because they are genuinely enthused. Manning's new policy alleviates some of these pressures. New authors will not have to go through the often humiliating process of seeking endorsement; successful writers won't be as exhausted by requests. Personal and professional networks will not be so overtaxed, potentially allowing space for other forms of mutual support. As Manning notes, reducing the dependence on blurbs may encourage innovation in book promotion. The importance of blurbs has long been accepted wisdom in publishing, but the assumption is worth challenging. As Catriona Menzies-Pike observes, if all books are blurbed as a matter of course then it is impossible to gauge their real value. Manning's initiative may create the space to consider whether this often fraught and questionable practice is really necessary.
