[New-Poetry] Il Miglior Fabbro

[David Graham]

Hard to think of any yardstick by which Whitman is not the father of  
American poetry--in terms of scope, craft, theme, diction, ambition,  
influence on later poets, and, of course, sheer brilliance. And is  
there a single greater poem in America than "Song of Myself"?  "The  
Cantos," you say?  Oh, please. . .

Dickinson is a very great poet, but much more limited in her range &  
influence.

I recommend Richard Gray's *American Poetry of the 20th Century* for  
a convincing account of the many ways Whitman looms over American  
poetry.  One of his serious quips has stayed with me:  every major  
American poem, he remarks, could well carry the alternative title  
"Song of Myself."

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David Graham
grahamd at ripon.edu

Home Page:
http://web.mac.com/drjazz

Poetry Library:
http://web.mac.com/drjazz/iWeb/Site/DGPoLibrary.html
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