3722 - Mid-century Modern: Some Poems of Dickinson and Whitman (Greg Kelley)
Course Description
Instructor: Greg Kelley
Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman embodied the poetry of mid-nineteenth century America. For example, both were spurred by the transcendentalism of the century’s earlier generation. However, in differing ways, the poetry of each shows the way toward the twentieth-century. Whitman’s poems, with their songlike free verse and frank embrace of human physicality strayed far from the expectations of their time. Dickinson’s poems, with their stark versification, strange word choices, and unexpected ironies, continue to challenge. Both poets expressed defiance of imposed sexual and gender roles, Whitman with hints and more than hints of same sex desire, and Dickinson with the voice of an independent, unmarried woman in an age stymied by “the spinster problem.” Join us to explore the poetic qualities that continue to inspire readers and writers in our own time.
Bio: Greg Kelley holds a Ph.D. in English from Emory University (1990). Happily married for 48 years, Greg enjoys his four adult children and three grandchildren. He taught at the high school and, mostly, at the university level for 40 years, most recently at Perimeter College of Georgia State University, before retiring in December 2024. He has played in rock bands continuously since 1969.