The Calamity of Calamus

The Calamity of Calamus

Introduction

Walt Whitman is famed as the first American poet. His use of free style has been praised by many and seen as very American. Walt Whitman’s career as a poet was criticized in two different ways. He is either seen as a genius for his style, or he is seen as repulsive because of his homosexuality and the way he expresses it in his poems. One of his most criticized works was his 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. The Calamus section in particular caused the most controversy because of its explicit nature. Calamus was seen as bold, as well as an insult to society.

Live Oak, with Moss = Calamus

Originally Walt Whitman wrote some of the poems in Calamus under the title of Live Oak, with Moss (Miller 130). He later revised and edited these poems due to their explicit content and his unwillingness to be that open. (Sex, Politics, and “Live Oak with Moss”).

Fredson Bowers is credited with discovering “Live Oak, with Moss”. He had found that Whitman had written a twelve poem sequence, which around early 1859 Whitman had copied into a notebook. Whitman had taken apart the notebook and altered the sequence of the poems. As it turned out, all the poems were revised and appeared out of order in the forty-five poem “Calamus” section of the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass. “Live Oak, with Moss” was about two men in love, their happy relationship, and the unfortunate aftermath. (Parker)

Another man credited with unearthing Whitman’s original works was Department of the Interior Secretary James Harlan. In 1865 he found Whitman’s copy of Leaves of Grass. Whitman’s copy included sexual and “procreative” passages that were marked for deletion or transference into another addition. Harlan was disgusted when he came across this document and soon thereafter fired Whitman because of his “obscene poetry”. (Miller 32)

Calamus vs. Children of Adam

When the 1860 edition of Leaves of Grass was published, it included “Calamus” as well as “Children of Adam”. The latter was the exact opposite of “Calamus” as it explored and centered on the male-female relationship. Following Children of Adam, Calamus focused on the male-male relationship. Whitman used a certain terminology called phrenology to distinguish the two sections; adhesiveness for manly love, and