American Literature: Romanticism research assignment Student Research Submissions 2015 Research Post 2

Marissa Holland

Walt Whitman and American Bohemia

In my first research post, I tracked the influence of Edgar Allan Poe’s works on French poet Charles Baudelaire. While this progression of American literary influence intrigued me, the Bohemian culture seems to be the common driving force behind both poets. Following a natural progression, these literary influences eventually ventured back to America igniting inspiration into the Romantic poet Walt Whitman. Not only influenced by its literature, Whitman is also intrigued with the cultural ideals of Bohemianism as presented by the French culture. While Whitman wrote and remains classified as a Romantic figure, as we have learned in course of this class, Romanticism is more often than not intertwined with other genres of literature. In the case of Whitman, it seems that the notions of Romanticism and Bohemianism are synonymous.  While the romantic elements of Whitman’s writings are obvious to a reader, how did the “city” based culture of Bohemia influence Whitman who writes widely about nature?

          Before diving into Whitman’s role in bohemia, I found it necessary to research the rise of bohemia in America, as it was very different from the bohemia of Paris or even London. Bohemian culture rose in direct response and contrast to the ideals of the bourgeois class. Bohemia offered one the freedom to discover themselves and society as it relates to art and aesthetics. This seems to be important to note as America prides itself on hard work and seemingly on monetary opportunity. In her article “The Vault’s at Pfaff’s: Whitman, Bohemia, and The Saturday Press,” author Joanna Levin attempts to reconcile this discrepancy. She explores the two most widely accepted historical views when it comes to the existence of the American Bourgeois. She states, “On the one hand, the influential tradition known as the ‘consensus’ model argues that the term ‘bourgeois’ functions as a synonym for the American culture at large” (14).  As most Americans of the time immigrated to achieve this middle-class status level, the idea of the bourgeois could be seen as the status of the country as a whole thus eliminating the possibility of a Bohemian sub-culture. As for the second historical philosophy, Levin cites author Stuart Blumin who argues, “Americans diverged widely in their economic circumstances, and … they translated their economic differences into significant differences in life-style, outlook, and aspirations” (15). This view allows for the existence of Bohemia and providing a gathering for those like Whitman.

Bohemia as a culture is a place without an origin. There is no city that can ultimately claim to be the home of bohemia; however, a city or gathering hub is central to this culture. In this case, areas of congregation are created by the people that are dedicated to the ideals of the culture. For Whitman, this Bohemia was found in Pfaff’s, a basement-saloon located in New York City and the primary hub for the American Bohemian. In her article “Whitman at Pfaff’s: Commercial Culture, Literary Life and New York Bohemia at Mid-Century,” author Christine Stansell follows Whitman’s involvement in Bohemia and how it eventually influenced his writing. Stansell notes that Whitman most sat in Pfaff’s and observed and did not necessarily participate in some of the bohemian conversation and debate. She states, “He sat off to the side…and quietly absorbed the high bonhomie and bright conversation that were the staples of bohemian conviviality. ‘My own greatest pleasure at Pfaff’s,’ he (Whitman) told Horace Traubel, ‘was to look on- to see, talk little, absorb,” (107). While Stansell does not make the connection, this observing behavior is consistent with the French fláneur, the bohemian tasked with observing culture and its people while making no judgment and categorizing society into groups. It seems as if Whitman took on a similar role while in Pfaff’s that eventually influenced his writing. Although Leaves of Grass was in its second addition by the time Whitman began frequenting Pfaff’s, the listing notion and categorizing of his writing can be traced to his actions in the saloon.

With this new found inspiration for his writing that increased the poem amount for Leaves of Grass tremendously, Whitman now had to tread through the ever changing waters of the publishing world. It would be his relationship formed with the “King of Bohemia” within Pfaff’s that would prove lucrative for Whitman. Henry Clapp Jr. was able to connect Whitman with publishers and newspapers that were not only willing to publish Whitman but also to front the costs. This was a progression for Whitman as he had previously paid for his own publication of Leaves of Grass. Their relationship grew out of a sense of fraternity as most of bohemia stemmed from. In her work “Walt Whitman and The Kind of Bohemia: The Poet in the Saturday Press,” author Amanda Gailey states:

The men had much in common: they were older than most of the other bohemians who frequented Pfaff’s; they were interested in exploring alternatives to male-female monogamy; they both had Quaker roots but unorthodox religious beliefs; and they both felt trepidation about the looming war (20).

The idea of male companionship, not always romantic, was a strong element of the Bohemian culture as women were still (and are still) not seen as an appropriate member of such a society.

By establishing such relationships with those men in the bohemian community, Whitman has even further cemented his position within Bohemia. 

          With his bohemian relationships and status stable, Whitman uses the connections of Clapp and Pfaff’s to publish his poetry as well as revised versions of Leaves of Grass. While most of Whitman’s works focus on nature and its healing abilities, it is interesting to note that a substantial amount of inspiration for Whitman was found in a basement saloon in the heart of the city. With Poe pioneering inspiration to Paris, and Bohemian Paris reversely influencing Whitman, it can be concluded that Bohemia America carries a vibrant history spanning oceans and continents and ending up in the writings of one of America’s most beloved writers.

Works Cited

Gailey, Amanda. “Walt Whitman and the King of Bohemia: The Poet in the Saturday Press.” Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 25.4 (2008): 143-166. Web. May 10, 2015.

Levin, Joanna. Bohemia in America: 1858-1920. Stanford: Stanford UP, 2010. Web. May 10, 2015

Stansell, Christine. “Whitman at Pfaff’s: Commercial Culture, Literary Life, and New York Bohemia at Mid-Century.” Walt Whitman Quarterly Review 10.3 (1993): 107-126. Web. May 10, 2015.