What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

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Doty wrote this in response to a lifelong love affair with Whitman, both with his writing and with the man himself. So we learn about both men‘s lives, and where they intersect this becomes the ultimate book about reading books. Doty looks at Whitman‘s writing as a reader, a writer, a teacher of readers, and a teacher of writers. ā¬‡ļø¸ā¬‡ļø¸ā¬‡ļø¸

IndoorDame I‘m not rushing off to make an academic study of Leaves of Grass now, but reading this has convinced me I want to read the 1855 version before I reread the deathbed edition. #Pantone2023 #Titanite @Clwojick 1y

Clwojick Great job! 1y

psalva Great review! I love Whitman. I‘m currently reading Emminent Outlaws by Christopher Bram, and there‘s a section on Ginsberg‘s ā€Howl.ā€¯ One of the things Ginsberg‘s dad (also a poet) wrote about ā€Howlā€¯ was, ā€ā€¦it has not enough glad Whitmanian affirmations.ā€¯ This makes me want to reread both Whitman and Ginsberg and compare their outlooks. I‘m adding this one to my stack as well :) 1y

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IndoorDame @psalva there is nothing to grow your TBR like writers writing about other writers!!! 1y

batsy Ooh, sounds good! 1y

IndoorDame @batsy it really was! I‘m debating whether I need my own copy now that this one is headed back to the library 1y

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IndoorDame

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

Every writer has to have a go at capturing the essence of NYC. This comes close enough that New Yorkers will feel it, but I‘m not sure he‘s conjured up a picture for someone who isn‘t already intimately familiar with that ness he‘s looking to capture.

Leftcoastzen I love New York , I never lived there , however, spent 2-3 weeks there in May & December for about 15 years .There is no place like New York 1y

ManyWordsLater Everything that happens in a life happens on the streets of New York every single day. 1y

Leftcoastzen @ManyWordsLater well said ! 1y

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IndoorDame

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

Cassandra would like me to know she is against my morning plans. #kittensagainstliterature #catsoflitsy

Librarybelle Love the hashtag! š‚ 1y

IndoorDame @Librarybelle hahaha you can thank @BookNAround for it šš‚ (edited) 1y

AlaMich With that stare, I wouldn‘t mess with her! š¹ 1y

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IndoorDame @AlaMich I know! She‘s really been working on her steely kitty glare lately š¾š¹ 1y

AlaMich Is she a tuxedo? It looks like maybe she has a little tuft of white fur under chin. My Luna was a tuxedo and she was awesome! 1y

IndoorDame @AlaMich she does have a few tiny whiteish tufts, more now that her winter coat has come in, but she doesn‘t exactly have the typical look of a tuxedo. They usually have that sleek short fur and at least one pure white patch, so I *think* she‘s just a black domestic medium hair, but I have wondered if she‘s a tuxedo cause her whitish tufts are under her chin and behind her legsā€¦ 1y

AlaMich @IndoorDame Well, she‘s a beauty regardless. 1y

IndoorDame @AlaMich thanks! She is šā€¨ā¬›š–¤ 1y

RaeLovesToRead Cassandra you gorgeous kitty š�°š�°š�° 1y

IndoorDame @RaeLovesToRead ā¯¤ļø¸ā¯¤ļø¸ā¯¤ļø¸ 1y

Amiable Such a pretty kitty! š» 1y

dabbe Charismatic Cassandra! ā¯£ļø¸š¾ā¯£ļø¸ 1y

Ruthiella š¹š¹š¹š» 1y

FlowerFairy What a beautiful baby š�° 1y

IndoorDame @dabbe such a good nickname for her ā¯£ļø¸ 1y

IndoorDame @Amiable @Ruthiella @FlowerFairy ā¯¤ļø¸ā¯¤ļø¸ā¯¤ļø¸ 1y

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IndoorDame

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

p. 129 ooooh, Doty has just revealed the lines he dreams of getting if he were ever to get a literary tattoo, and now I‘m dying to know how many people he‘s influenced to get this exact tattoo (because obviously it immediately crossed my mind š‰)

Leftcoastzen There is something about Whitman.I was reading Leaves of Grass in my college years , on a bus . Had like a transcendental/Metaphorical experience, his words seemed to come to life & take over everything. Or , maybe I‘m nuts!š„ 1y

IndoorDame @Leftcoastzen I don‘t think you‘re nuts at all. That sounds just about right for Whitman š„ 1y

Kimzey Now I‘m curious, which lines would he tattoo? 1y

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IndoorDame @Kimzey somewhat surprising in his book on Whitman , but the lines are from an Emily Dickinson poem ā€Done with the compass - / Done with the chart!ā€¯ 1y

Kimzey @IndoorDame Well, I looked up the poem and I‘m intrigued. But that couldn‘t be my tattoo, since I‘m pretty sure I‘m not yet done with compass or chart! Stacking this one. š“ 1y

IndoorDame @Kimzey the lines resonate more for me, but I‘m not getting them tattooed tomorrow either āŗļø¸ definitely recommend this though! 1y

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TheBookHippie

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Thank you so much!!! š’š’š’š’š’š’

I‘m so excited to read this!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks You‘re very welcome!!! š’š’š’ 1y

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IndoorDame

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

#Wierdwords @CBee

Anytime you‘re reading a book written by a poet you‘re sure to look up 5 times as many words as usual.

CBee This is a super cool one! I‘d never heard of it until I (partially, didn‘t finish for some reason) started reading

The Anthropocene Reviewed (Signed Edition): Essays on a Human-Centered Planet

IndoorDame @CBee I‘ve heard great things about that! 1y

CBee @IndoorDame it‘s good, but I stopped listening for some reason - the audio is always better for me with NF. Maybe I‘ll pick it back up at some point š¤·ā€¨ā™€ļø¸ 1y

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IndoorDame

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

Do you ever start a book and feel immediately relieved that it‘s exactly what you‘d hoped it would be? This is described as essays on Doty‘s lifelong love affair with Whitman. Mark Doty is one of my favorite poets, but I wasn‘t sure what to expect because his writing is genre defying and always surprising. So far this is exactly the mix of explication on Leaves of Grass itself, and insights into how it affected Doty‘s life that I most hoped for.

TheBookHippie This is on my wishlist!!!! 1y

IndoorDame @TheBookHippie I‘m only a few chapters in but I think you‘ll like it! 1y

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merelybookish

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

I went to the library today and brought home a stack of books I'll never get around to reading. It was delightful! š‘¸šˇ‰š‘¸šˇ‰š‘¸šˇ‰

readordierachel How wonderful! Looks like you got some good ones too! 4y

Ruthiella Wonderful!!! š 4y

LeahBergen š‘¸š¸»š‘¸š¸» 4y

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Cinfhen Awesomeness š�³ 4y

AlaMich That‘s my plan for today...first time I will have entered the library since March! 4y

lynneamch Nice stack! Our library isn't open yet. Luckily I have plenty of books at home, but there's just something special about roaming the shelves. 4y

merelybookish @AlaMich Hope you had fun! 4y

merelybookish @lynneamch It was fun to scan the stacks and the new release sections! But it's hard to know if they actually *should* be reopened. 4y

merelybookish @readordierachel Thanks! Lots of picks for Women in Translation month! 4y

merelybookish @Ruthiella @LeahBergen @Cinfhen It was enjoyable to do something that felt "normal." 4y

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BookishMarginalia

What Is the Grass: Walt Whitman in My Life | Mark Doty

#TBRtemptation! This new book ā€”a mix of biography, literary criticism, and memoir by a noted poet ā€” marks the 165th anniversary of Whitman‘s Leaves of Grass. #OMagazine

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