LITR 5731: Seminar in American Minority Literature
University of Houston-Clear Lake, fall 2004
Poetry Presentation Summary

Brendan Foley
18 November 2004

Poetry Presentation of  “In Paths Untrodden”

“In Paths Untrodden” is the opening poem of the Calamus section in the 1860 edition of Whitman’s opus Leaves of Grass.  The Calamus section was a collection of forty-five poems centering on the subject of  “male love.”  However, Whitman insisted this celebration of the “adhesive love” of men for men, versus the “amative love” between men and women, was political in nature.  To quote Whitman:

It is to the development, identification, and general prevalence of that fervid comradeship, (the adhesive love, at least rivaling the amative love hitherto possessing imaginative literature, if not going beyond it,) that I look for the counterbalance and offset of our materialistic and vulgar American democracy and for the spiritualization thereof.[1]

            In thinking about the poem in relation to the course and its objectives, it appears that objective 1c- “To observe alternative identities and literary strategies developed by minority cultures and writers to gain voice and choice” (such strategies include “double language”, use of dominant cultures words against them, minority voice as the conscience of the larger culture) would be relevant.  So question #1:  What strategies do we see at work here that might indicate that this poem is a “gay poem”, and/or what strategies may be Whitman be using to deflect such interpretations?  Strategies, in my opinion, also include the use of figures of speech, form, and word choice.

            In addition, another objective that has not entered our discussion too often during the semester is objective 4a- “To identify the ‘new American’ who crosses, combines, or confuses ethnic or gender identity.”  So, question #2 asks:  “If we can agree that the poem at least has a homosexual undercurrent, is Whitman suggesting or predicting the rise of this “new American” identity?  If so, why or as a response to what?  What in the poem suggests this?

            Finally, another objective that comes to mind is objective 5b- “To assess the status of minority writers in the ‘canon’ of what is read and taught in schools (plus the criteria determining such status).”  I think we can all agree that Whitman and his work have a firmly established position within the canon of American literature, but it is not because Whitman was a “gay” poet or writer.  Do you think that Whitman qualifies as a minority writer in the same sense that the other authors and poets we have discussed are “minority writers”?  Do you think Whitman’s homosexuality will play a role or currently does play a role in his position within the canon and his continued teaching within schools?

It is to the development, identification, and general prevalence of that fervid comradeship, (the adhesive love, at least rivaling the amative love hitherto possessing imaginative literature, if not going beyond it,) that I look for the counterbalance and offset of our materialistic and vulgar American democracy and for the spiritualization thereof.

            -Walt Whitman