Strangle the singers who will not sing you loud and strong : Emerson, Whitman, and the idea of a Literary Culture

Abstract

The idea of a literary or poeticized culture and the notion of the power of redescription are two provocative aspects of Richard Rorty's Contingency, Irony, and Solidarity. The beginnings of this kind of culture can be detected at the end of the eighteenth century, when European linguistic practices changed at an enormously fast rate and redescriptions became ever more radical in nature. A liberal poeticized culture in its fully realized form would be antifoundationalist, antiessentialist, nominalist, and historicist through and through. This article discusses the implications of the idea of a literary culture and the role the poet (in the broad sense) is supposed to play in the process of creating and establishing such a culture. This is done in three steps. First, Rorty's notion of a literary or poeticized culture is analyzed. Second, Emerson's understanding of the task the true poet has to fulfill is discussed. Finally, the article seeks to elucidate the complexity of Whitman's suggestions regarding the function of the American poet.