In celebration of Walt Whitman’s 200th birthday, the Maryville Humanities Department, in collaboration with the St. Louis Poetry Center, presented Whitmania!, a semester-long series of events. Widely considered the father of American poetry, Whitman has had continuous influence on contemporary poets, writers, artists, composers and thinkers in America and abroad. The celebration was led by Germaine Murray, PhD, professor of English, and Dana Levin, MA, distinguished writer-in-residence.
Whitmania! kicked off with the opening of “Whitman: Up Close,” an exhibit in the Morton J. May Foundation Gallery. Visitors to the gallery experienced a three-dimensional anthology of poems by Whitman and his contemporaries, as well as other works of art influenced by Whitman like music, photography, painting and sculpture. The exhibition demonstrated Whitman’s cultural influence in the United States and across the globe.
Other Whitmania! events included a lecture by Stephanie Burt, a poet, literary critic, professor of English at Harvard University and transgender activist, and a concert with Peter Henderson, artist-inresidence and associate professor of music. Maryville faculty also discussed Whitmania! on an episode of Saint Louis Speaks Podcast, which highlights civic leaders in the St. Louis region.