Using Walt Whitman's prose to understand place, play, and identity in the United States in 1880 & Present

Activity: Talk or presentation › Oral presentation

Description

Walt Whitman, often referred to as one of America's most influential poets, wrote extensively about the transcendental wonders of the natural world. This talk refocuses Whitman's writing to examine the physical and conceptualised space within ad hoc/unintentional urban sport facilities in the late nineteenth century. In doing so, the talk connects tenets surrounding the philosophy of optimism, diversity, and universality with three poems from his life-long work "Leaves of Grass" with the constrained, cramped, and chaotic atmosphere of indoor sport spaces in Rochester, NY during the 1890s. Whitman's legacy of triumphant and unrepentant optimism embodies the core tenets of sport and as such provides an unusual and unexpected lens of analysis through which cultural identity, fandom, and nationalism can be more thoroughly and beautifully explored.
Period27 Mar 2025
Event titleLiterary Architecture 1500-Today
Event typeConference
LocationCardiff, United KingdomShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

Keywords

  • cultural identity
  • 19th century
  • poetry
  • sport history
  • sport facilities

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