BC 04F25 OL - Manuscripts and Materiality: Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman
Course Description
Manuscripts and Materiality: The Textual Remains of Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman (ONLINE)
We cannot talk about nineteenth-century American poetry without mentioning Emily Dickinson and Walt Whitman. Though they pursued very different artistic goals, both were writing during a pivotal time in American history. While many of us are familiar with some of their most famous poems, we can gain a deeper understanding of them as individuals and artists by examining the manuscripts and physical materials they left behind. Dickinson carefully curated her unpublished poetry, sewing it by hand into small booklets and leaving them for loved ones to find after her death. Walt Whitman, on the other hand, wrote for large public audiences and painstakingly revised and republished his poems throughout his life, but many of his earliest drafts survive on the backs of envelopes and scraps of stationery. Join us as we trace the material remains that reveal how poetry moved from the imagination to manuscript in the hands of two of America’s most iconic poets!
Wed. 9/24 3-4 pm ONLINE
Instructor: Dr. Scott Cheney Sessions: 1
Scott Cheney received his Ph.D. in Modern Literature and Culture from Loyola University Chicago in 2014, where he studied composition theory, twentieth-century poetry, and African American literature. His interest in poetry and textual studies led to his dissertation, titled “Anthologizing Modernism: New Verse Anthologies, 1913-53.” He started teaching full-time at Collin College in 2012, and in the Fall 2021 semester, he began teaching fully online for Collin College’s new virtual campus: iCollin. Scott enjoys trail running, backpacking, and camping with his family.