Početna >
International Whitman Seminar:
"Walt Whitman's Poetry in the 21st Century"
Università di Macerata

ABOUT WHITMAN'S POETRY
Walt Whitman's poetry, written in the nineteenth century, continues to have a strong impact on literatures and cultures worldwide. Every year new editions of Whitman's work are published in a variety of languages; an ever-expanding group of poets “reply” to him in their poetry; his poems are set to music and are quoted in films; he is invoked in the discussion of political and cultural issues as well as of gender and sexuality; and he continues to be a huge presence in college and university curricula globally.

ABOUT WHITMAN SEMINARS
In order to respond adequately to this international phenomenon The Transatlantic Walt Whitman Association sponsors a series of International Whitman Seminars, where students from different countries come together for intensive, credit-bearing classes taught by an international team of Whitman specialists.

The first seminar was held in Dortmund, Germany, in June 2008. The second took place in Tours, France, in June 2009. The third will take place in Macerata, Italy, on 14-20 June 2010. In the regular classes, focusing on some of Whitman's major poems, students will have an opportunity confront Whitman's books, share their readings of key poems and clusters, and discuss Whitman's attempts at a multilingual English, his cohesive representation of human relations, and his work's  international significance in the twenty-first century. In addition, there will be special presentations on the reception of Whitman in various countries and languages as well as other topics. This year's instructors will be Éric Athenot (Université François-Rabelais, Tours), translator of  the 1855 Leaves and author of Walt Whitman, poète-cosmos;  Betsy Erkkila (Northwestern University), author of  Walt Whitman among the French and Walt Whitman the Political Poet;  Kenneth M. Price (University of Nebraska, Lincoln), co-founder and editor of the  Walt Whitman Archive, author of To Walt Whitman, America; and Andrew Lawson (Leeds Metropolitan University), author of  Walt Whitman and the Class Struggle.
Students will also participate in the symposium held at the end of the week and featuring Whitman scholars from various countries.

Credits will be issued by the Università di Macerata. International visiting students will live with their Italian counterparts, thus keeping expenses as low as possible and creating opportunities for a meaningful intercultural dialogue. In addition to class work on Whitman and the symposium, students will visit Giacomo Leopardi's house in Recanati,  and will be shown some of the artistic and architectural treasures of the area. Macerata is a historic city of 42,000 people in the Marche region of Italy set on the hills sloping down  to the Adriatic Sea . The university, located in the beautiful original walled city, owns some of the most interesting historical buildings, including Palazzo Ugolini - the first  Neoclassical palace in Macerata, designed by the famous architect  Valadier - where the Seminar and Symposium will be held .