New Essay by Professor Jeff Gonzalez Analyzes Use of Walt Whitman by Contemporary Writers

Professor Jeff Gonzalez’s new essay, “Great Gray Poet or Great Gray Fool? Queries of Whitman’s Legacy by Chris Adrian, Sherman Alexie, Andrea Dworkin, and Michael Cunningham,” appears in the latest issue of College Literature, vol. 46 no. 4, 2019, p. 829-859.

The article, says Dr.Gonzalez, “analyzes counterintuitive uses of Walt Whitman by four contemporary US writers. Chris Adrian’s Gob’s Grief, Sherman Alexie’s “Defending Walt Whitman,” Andrea Dworkin’s Mercy, and Michael Cunningham’s Specimen Days break from common practice by displaying ambivalence or hostility toward Whitman, questioning his symbolic legacy rather than claiming heritage with him, … demonstrating important tensions within the contemporary US’s self-conception.”