How Gay Was Walt Whman? |

Contents:

• WAS WALT WHMAN 'GAY'?
• WAS WALT WHMAN 'GAY'? NEW TEXTBOOK L SPARK LGBTQ HISTORY BATE
• WALT WHMAN MA NO SECRET OF BEG GAY
• HOW GAY WAS WALT WHMAN?
• WALT WHMAN IS OUR NATNAL POET, AND A GAY IN
• WALT WHMAN, OUR GREAT GAY POET?

WAS WALT WHMAN 'GAY'?

He lived om 1819 to 1892, a time when “gay” meant ltle more than “happy.

And works like the "Calam" poems his "Leav of Grass" llectn, Whman discs romantic and sexual relatnships between California looks to implement the untry’s first LGBTQ-clive curriculum, state tn officials and textbook publishers are grapplg wh how to refer to figur like Whman, who were believed to have been gay, bisexual or transgenr but never me out: Should we label them as such? A study of poet Walt Whman, seen this undated fileAs California looks to implement the untry’s first LGBTQ-clive curriculum, state tn officials and textbook publishers are grapplg wh how to refer to figur like Whman, who were believed to have been gay, bisexual or transgenr but never me out: Should we label them as such? 9, 1977 fileHMH materials intify Harvey Milk, one of the untry’s first openly gay elected official, as gay, bee Milk publicly labeled himself as such.

WAS WALT WHMAN 'GAY'? NEW TEXTBOOK L SPARK LGBTQ HISTORY BATE

”Nurse Florence NightgalePA / PA Wire via APAcrdg to scholars, the term “homosexual” did not enter mon age until the early 20th century, while “gay” beme popular the 1930s and ’40s, and “lbian” emerged the 1970s. "Polly Pagenhart, Our Fay CoalnMcGraw Hill also rejected the California missn’s remendatn to list the poet and Harlem Renaissance lear Langston Hugh as gay, sayg there is no evince to support the claim. “On some level, many of would argue that there were no gay people or lbians before the terms existed.

WALT WHMAN MA NO SECRET OF BEG GAY

But for the award-wng gay poet Doty, textual analysis of the great Amerin bard required a personal analysis, which necsated this kd of spirual ntact. "Labels like gay, queer, or bisexual were nonexistent Whman's era. Throughout Whman's wrgs there are nsistent referenc to his homosexualy.

Ined, Whman's poetry do appear to dite that Whman was a homosexual, and is evint om his notebooks, his letters, and the patterns of his personal relatnships as well. Author Max Eastman has argued that Walt Whman was clearly a homosexual, and that at certa moments of his life, he was even strongly love wh himself.

HOW GAY WAS WALT WHMAN?

He nounced Hollaway's attempt to "homosexualize" Whman. This was bee the reviewer had refed to discs Whman's homosexualy.

To a large extent, this exchange dited, and of self, that there was an issue nnected to Whman's homosexualy.

Acrdg to Eastman, Whman's homosexualy was directly related to his greatt strength. " Hollaway, other words, knew that Whman was gay, but he saw as a failure and refed to raise the issue.

WALT WHMAN IS OUR NATNAL POET, AND A GAY IN

Th, what is illumatg is that this cricism of a cric brought out Whman's homosexualy to the open. Hollaway, for stance, refed to even accept the homosexualy of Whman that he refed to discs . " Eastman also affirmed that by ignorg Whman's homosexualy, he had refed "anythg havg the remott siu to the realy of Walt Whman.

" In other words, for Eastman, Whman's homosexualy reprented Whman himself.

Eastman charg Hollaway wh misregnizg the pot that Whman's homosexual inty was not a failure to nnect to "a happy home life, " but precisely a triumph over superficial nnectns that society imposed.

WALT WHMAN, OUR GREAT GAY POET?

The "solid state" that Hollaway lot "paterny, " Eastman lot a homosexual inty that is "self-sufficient, " "pennt, " and part of the life of "a great poetic life of real actn and ee natural experience. Th, Eastman's champng of Whman's homosexualy is surely an ditn, to say the least, of Whman's sexual orientatn. Eastman was happy wh Whman's erotic rource, and he felt that "perpetual dulgence" was a ntament and nservatn of sire the homosexualy.

Eastman regards the "hont word" of Whman's homosexualy as the source of Whman's pennce and power.

In other words, he was clearly referrg to his homosexualy, but a very subtle way. (Reynolds) The bgrapher also leans toward the view that the poet was more homoerotic than homosexual.