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In
celebration of the 150th birthday of both The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and
the printing of the first edition of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, TCNJ hosted
a Leaves of Grass Sesquicentennial Symposium from September 22-24, 2005. TCNJ
was one of only three colleges in the country to host a symposium in Whitman's
honor this anniversary year, making the event popular among literary scholars
around the country.
The weekend's activities were organized by professors David Blake and Michael
Robertson of TCNJ's English department, as well as renowned Whitman scholars.
The symposium received funding from a grant through the New Jersey Council for
the Humanities (NJCH). Because it was sponsored by NJCH, the symposium was also
a professional enhancement opportunity, attracting high school and elementary
school teachers from all over New Jersey.
Symposium attendees were comprised of college educators, literary scholars, intellectuals
and poets from all over the United States. Scholars included Ed Folsom from the
University of Iowa, Kenneth Price from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Wai
Chee Dimok from Yale University, and Betsy Erkkila from Northwestern University.
Poets in attendance included James Longenbach from University of Rochester, Matthea
Harvey from Sarah Lawrence College and New York-based David Lehman.
The symposium kicked off with Stephen Collins' performance of "Unlaunch'd Voices,"
his stage performance of Leaves of Grass. Students from New Jersey were bused
to TCNJ to watch the show.
Following Collins' performance, there was a marathon reading of "Song of Myself,"
one of Whitman's most famous poems, on Quimby's Prairie. Afterward, scholars and
critics hosted teaching roundtables for educators. The day ended with a poetry
reading in the Music Building. Contributing poets Longenbach, Harvey and Lehman
read selections of their poetry, answered questions and signed copies of their
books.
Friday and Saturday were days consisting of panel discussions on Whitman and his
place in our literary canon. Some of the discussions included "Poets to Come:
Whitman and 21st Century American Poetry," "Whitman and American Voices," "Whitman
in the 19th Century," "Whitman and the World" and "Whitman, Religion and the Arts."
Friday's main event came at the end of the day. Award-winning jazz composer Fred
Hersch and his ensemble presented Leaves of Grass in TCNJ's Kendall Hall auditorium.
The concert, a jazz interpretation of Whitman's Leaves of Grass, included vocals,
spoken voice and instrumental interpretation. The concert was followed with a
question-and-answer session with Hersch.
Saturday's panel discussions closed with a reception and a bus trip to Walt Whitman's
house in Camden, N.J. Scholars, teachers and students attended, capping off the
weekend with a historical tour of Walt Whitman's life in Camden.
To coincide with the symposium, TCNJ's Art Gallery featured an exhibit of works
inspired by Whitman. The exhibit was dedicated during the symposium and remained
open through October 19. The art in the exhibit consists of campus artists' interpretations
of Leaves of Grass.
The Walt Whitman Symposium brought many scholars from all over the country to
TCNJ. Besides being a celebration of Walt Whitman, the symposium provided the
scholarly community with the opportunity to celebrate The College of New Jersey,
a school many had never heard of before, but all of the sudden, cannot stop talking
about.
Pamela is a senior English major at The College of New Jersey. She plans to
attend graduate school for an MA in English at the University of North Carolina
at Charlotte. At TCNJ, she is the director of communications
for the Future Alumni Assocation and a member of Sigma
Tau Delta, the english honor society. She also works in the Sovereign
bank Arena Box Office and Princeton University's Engineering Library.
