Fanny Wright (dana fucich)

Taken from Wikipedia because I'm a lazy shit and don't want to paraphrase:

"Frances Wright (September 6,1795 – December 13, 1852) also widely known as Fanny Wright, was a Scottish-born lecturer, writer, freethinker, feminist, abolitionist, and socialreformer, who becamea U. S. citizen in 1825. That year she founded the NashobaCommune in Tennesseeas a utopian community to prepare slaves for emancipation,intending to create an egalitarian place, but it lasted only three years. Her Viewsof Society and Manners in America (1821) brought her the most attention asa critique of the new nation."

Obviously, Whitman and Wright shared similar views on slavery, although Whitman didn't necessarily agree with abolitionism.  They both believed in freedom for slaves, Frances spent a lot of time in the states creating a community to educate slaves in order to prepare them for freedom.  Although an abolitionist, her activism caused an objective separation between herself and leading abolitionists.  But she continued to be an advocate for women and slaves.
Though her methods were more direct, both Whitman and Wright challenged America's social constructs through their writing.
Whitman said of Wright, "we all loved her: fell down before her: her very appearance seemed to enthrall us." and went on to say she was, "sweeter, nobler, grander--multiplied by twenty--than all who traduced her," pronouncing his admiration for Wright later in his life (Fanny Wright: Rebel in America, Morris, 3).

My First Reading.--Lafayette (dana fucich)

I find it interesting how Whitman is a background character in certain "important" moments in history.  A witness to the "Mexico" and "Elizabeth" shipwrecks and among the children who were present during Lafayette's 24 state visit to America.  His personal history is enriched by America's own historical events.
And how he recalls such a moment amidst remembering learning to read and write emphasizes that particular moment's significance.  And I wonder if a French general paid visit to America now, if his or her presence would be so intriguing.  Of course, Lafayette being a "national guest" held more relevance during that time, but Whitman's interest in the general certainly establishes his patriotic inclination at a young age.
It's also interesting to be given insight into when a write started to develop a love for the written word.  That occasion is is of great importance to all writers.  Defining that moment of intrigue defines a writer.

vs. (dana fucich)

From 1855 to 1860 there is, in a sense, loss of confidence, a sort of humbling.  Whitman guides the reader through "Song of Myself" as might a prophet; knowledgeable and determined.  Even throughout the rest of Leaves of Grass, that sort of enlightenment is still prevalent.  This narrative style appears to be missing in Whitman’s 1860 rendition.  From the first stanza:

“O I wish I could impress others as you and the waves
         have just been impressing me.”

the voice carries timidity that is not present in his 1855 version.  He impressed the reader in the earlier poem, but the roles of reader and narrator are reversed from the beginning of the later work.

Whitman still expresses his adoration for nature, he still merges himself with the ocean and the air, but the significance is lost in revision.  He is constantly contradicting his revelations in “Song of Myself.”

“O I perceive I have not understood anything—not a
         single object—and that no man ever can.”

An obvious opposition to all he “knows” in 1855, which was much more persuasive than this modesty.  He furthers his humbling, stating:

“I NEED no assurances—I am a man who is pre-
         occupied, of his own Soul;

I do not doubt that whatever I know at a given time,
         there waits for me more, which I do not know;”

adding emphasis to a deprivation of knowledge.  The reader feels less taught by this narrator, less swayed by this new voice.  Whitman maintains this reserved narration to the very end, an ending which defy that of “Song of Myself” and the ending of the early Leaves of Grass.

“We must separate—Here! take from my lips this
         kiss,

Whoever you are, I give it especially to you;

So long —and I hope we shall meet again.”

The uncertainty that underlines this conclusion is an obvious adjustment from”

“I depart as air…I shake my white locks at the runaway sun,

I effuse my flesh in eddies and drift it in lacy jags.

I bequeath myself to the dirt to grow from the grass I love,

If you want me again look for me under your bootsoles.”

and:

“Great is life..and real and mystical..wherever and whoever,

Great is death….Sure as life hold all parts together, death holds all parts

            together;

Sure as the stars return again after they merge in the light, death is great as life.”

Both early endings present a reassurance to the reader.  There is no separation; Whitman is informing the reader he will always be with them.  He is declaring his knowledge of life and death, reiterating his vast knowledge that is continual throughout the 1855 Leaves of Grass.  There is never a definite “farewell” as seen in the later version; 1855 Whitman would never be absent, he would not leave his reader.

Paumanok, and My Life On It as Child and Young Man

With The Velvet Underground's "Ocean" as my guided background noise, I read this nostalgic piece concentrated on shoreline adventures.  How appropriate.
I wish my memories were as vivid, I wish they had the ability to engaged my senses.  I can't slow down enough to let those kind of sentimental reflections surface.  It's admirable how Whitman can translate his childhood expeditions so coherently, so poetically.  As that one man of infinitely gorgeous language once said, "the earth has music for those who listen."  Whitman listened, and so carefully, as to translate it for those who won't listen.
One could have guessed nature would be as significant to him during childhood as it was later in life.  Even the matured prophetical poet Whitman houses a weakness for it.  The attention to scenic images in his poetry, the love he expresses for it in "Song of Myself," the importance he assigns it, parallels its relevance to his childhood development.  Textbook psychology.  These moments he had with the outside world are obvious inspirations, which is why he wants the rest of us to have the same relationship with nature.  Also why "Song of Myself" stresses that particular relationship to the reader.  He entirely appreciated the beauty in regression to earthly basics.
(here comes the ocean and the waves)

minimalist on motifs.

"I will do the the bank by the wood and become undisguised and naked" (1)

"Who goes there! hankering, gross, mystical, nude?" (13)

"Still nodding night!  Mad naked summer night!" (15)

"Jostling me through streets and public halls...coming naked to me at night" (38)

All these motifs appear amidst images of nature.  They accentuate the significance of human relationship with the earth, as well as with each other.
I retrace my steps back to that whole idea of connectivity.  And what connects us more to nature than our natural state of being?  What connects us more to each other than circumstances so humbling?  Whitman uses nudity as a motif to express the importance of being fully exposed to our surroundings, being fully merged with our undisturbed environment. 
He tells us things in confidence, strips away social confinements, admires the night and loafs with lovers in the nude.  These moments are all occasions in which one would already be comfortable or be seeking comfort.  Whitman is contradicting the idea that nudity is shameful or perverse, he challenges those notions.  He embraces nakedness as he embraces all other beautiful aspects of the world around him.  Leaving us to reflect on our own ideas and accepted "standards" of nudity.