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The authors, several of whom argue with each other, exhibit the wonderful diversity of contemporary political theory, moving from humanist to post humanist appreciations of Whitman, and from seeing him as a thinker of solitude committed to individual rights to one of erotic connection. This volume brings Whitman into conversation with political theory by way of examination of his major works. George Shulman, author of American Prophecy: Race and Redemption in American Political Culture Whitman is indeed one of the great theorists of democracy, but is not often taught as part of the canon of American political thought, an oversight that this volume goes far to remedy. He is the author of America Goes to College: Political Theory for the Liberal Arts Political Theory for Mortals: Shades of Justice, Images of Death Political Returns: Irony in Politics and Theory from Plato to the Antinuclear Movement and coeditor of The Politics of Irony: Essays in Self-Betrayal. Seery is a professor of politics at Pomona College. A Political Companion to Walt Whitman reaches beyond literature into political theory, revealing the ideology behind Whitman’s call for the emergence of American poets of democracy. Seery and a collection of prominent theorists and philosophers uncover the political awareness of Whitman’s poetry and prose, analyzing his faith in the potential of individuals, his call for a revolution in literature and political culture, and his belief in the possibility of combining heroic individualism with democratic justice. Some scholars disregard Whitman’s understanding of democracy, insisting on separating his personal works from his political works.Ī Political Companion to Walt Whitman is the first full-length exploration of Whitman’s works through the lens of political theory.

The works of Walt Whitman have been described as masculine, feminine, postcolonial, homoerotic, urban, organic, unique, and democratic, yet arguments about the extent to which Whitman could or should be considered a political poet have yet to be fully confronted.