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As scholarship has made its importance to American letters more manifest, editions of the 1855 version of Whitman's masterpiece have multiplied. This one, prepared in honor of the poem's 150th anniversary, will be hard to beat. Edited by major Americanist Reynolds (Walt Whitman's America, etc.), it comes as close as possible, without being a facsimile, to reproducing Whitman's original text, which he famously self-published. The familiar litho of the young rough with open collar opens the book, and Reynold's terrific and informative afterword closes it, along with contemporary reviews (some written by Whitman himself) and Emerson's famous letter ("I greet you at the beginning of a great career..."). Those who know Whitman only through the beautiful but bloated 1892 "deathbed" edition of Leaves of Grass will find here a lean, searing celebration of self. 内容简介
One of the great innovative figures in American letters, Walt Whitman created a daringly new kind of poetry that became a major force in world literature. Leaves Of Grass is his one book. First published in 1855 with only twelve poems, it was greeted by Ralph Waldo Emerson as "the wonderful gift... the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed." Over the course of Whitman's life, the book reappeared in many versions, expanded and transformed as the author's experiences and the nation's history changed and grew. Whitman's ambition was to creates something uniquely American. In that he succeeded. His poems have been woven into the very fabric of the American character. From his solemn masterpieces "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd" and "Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking" to the joyous freedom of "Song of Myself," "I Sing the Body Electric," and "Song of the Open Road," Whitman's work lives on, an inspiration to the poets of later generations. 作者简介
Before the age of thirty-six there was no sign that Walt Whitman would become even a minor literary figure, let alone the major poetic voice of an emerging America. Born in 1819 on Long Island, he was the second son of a carpenter and contractor. His formal schooling ended at age eleven, when he was apprenticed to a printer in Brooklyn. He became a journeyman printer in 1835 and spent the next two decades as a printer, free-lance writer, and editor in New York. In 1855, at his own expense, he published the twelve long poems, without titles, that make up the first edition of Leaves of Grass. The book, with its unprecedented mixture of the mystical and the earthy, was received with puzzlement or silence, except by America's most distinguished writer, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Whitman lost no time in preparing a second edition, adding "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry" and nineteen other new poems in 1856. With the third edition (1860), the book had tripled in size. Whitman would go on adding to it and revising it for the rest of his life. Whitman's poetry slowly achieved a wide readership in America and in England. He was praised by Swinburne and Tennyson, and visited by Oscar Wilde. He suffered a stroke in 1873 and spent the remainder of his life in Camden, New Jersey. His final edition of Leaves of Grass appeared in 1892, the year of his death. 精彩书评
"Whitman's best poems have that permanent quality of being freshly painted, of not being dulled by the varnish of the years."
--Malcolm Cowley
苍穹之下的回响:一部关于人类经验与自然哲思的史诗 书名: 《迷雾之径:远古的回声与现代的絮语》 作者: 伊莱亚斯·凡·德·维尔德 译者: (此处留空,假设为虚构译本或作者本人视角) 装帧: 精装典藏版 --- 导言:在迷雾中寻找清晰的界碑 《迷雾之径》并非一部传统的叙事小说,它更像是一张由无数观察点、深刻的内省和对时间维度无尽探索所构筑的巨幅挂毯。伊莱亚斯·凡·德·维尔德,这位隐居于北欧峡湾边陲的哲学家兼博物学家,用他沉静而富有穿透力的笔触,带领我们穿梭于人类文明的黎明与科技高速发展的现代之间。本书的核心议题在于:当我们不断地向外拓展疆界——无论是地理上的殖民、知识上的突破,还是技术上的飞跃——我们是否也在同时,不可避免地向内收缩,遗失了与自然、与自我最初的、朴素的联系? 本书的结构犹如一个复杂的迷宫,分为“石碑的低语”、“河流的记忆”、“星辰的几何学”和“铁轨的终点”四个主要部分,每一部分都以一种近乎冥想的节奏展开,探讨着人类在特定环境下的生存状态与精神图景。 --- 第一部分:石碑的低语——时间的重量与遗忘的艺术 “石碑的低语”聚焦于“时间”这个宏大而又无法把握的概念。凡·德·维尔德深入考察了古老的遗迹——那些在冰川消融或沙漠风沙中兀自矗立的巨石阵、失落城市的残垣断壁。他质疑了我们对“历史”的定义。历史是否仅仅是胜利者的记录,还是更深层次上,是那些被刻意忽略的、沉默的物质本身所承载的集体无意识? 作者细腻地描摹了苏格兰高地那些被苔藓覆盖的巨石,它们不言不语,却比任何文字都更有效地传达了岁月的重量。他分析了人类面对永恒时的焦虑:我们试图通过建造不朽的纪念碑来对抗消亡,但最终,纪念碑本身也会成为风化的对象。这部分探讨了“记忆的可靠性”——我们对祖先的记忆是否只是一系列美化或简化后的神话?以及,真正的传承,是否需要我们主动地、痛苦地去“遗忘”那些阻碍我们直面当下的教条和偏见? 关键主题: 纪念碑文化、口头与书面传统的张力、面对虚无的时间观。 --- 第二部分:河流的记忆——流动性、边界与身份的构建 如果说石碑代表着静止的权力,那么河流则象征着永恒的运动和边界的模糊性。在这一部分,凡·德·维尔德将镜头转向了生命赖以生存的地理形态——河流、洋流与雨水的循环。他追踪了多瑙河、亚马逊河以及维多利亚湖周边的生态系统,但他的兴趣点很快从生物学转向了人类社会与水域的关系。 河流常常是文明的摇篮,也是冲突的界限。作者深入分析了“水权”在现代地缘政治中的隐秘角力,以及河流如何塑造了特定群体的精神气质。例如,在那些常年受洪水威胁的三角洲地带,居民对“掌控”的渴望如何转化为一种顺应自然的、近乎宿命论的哲学观。 书中特别穿插了一段对古代航海家记录的考证,揭示了早期探险家眼中“新世界”的定义是如何被河流的宽度和深度所定义的。河流的流动性反过来挑战了固化的“民族”概念,促使读者思考:身份,难道不应该更像是一条河流,不断接纳新的支流,不断冲刷旧的河床吗? 关键主题: 边界的流动性、生态决定论的辩证、身份认同在运动中的重塑。 --- 第三部分:星辰的几何学——秩序、迷信与科学的冷酷之美 “星辰的几何学”是本书中最具思辨性的部分。凡·德·维尔德将目光投向了夜空,探讨人类如何从早期的星辰崇拜(占星术、神话)过渡到精确的天文测量(开普勒、牛顿)。他认为,这种转变并非单纯的“进步”,而是一种心智上的“截肢”——我们获得了精确预测的能力,却失去了与宇宙的神秘对话。 作者以精妙的笔法对比了巴比伦的天文记录和现代射电望远镜所捕获的数据。他指出,古代的星图是“有温度的”,它们与农业、宗教祭祀紧密相连,是人类集体想象力的投射;而现代的星图则是“冷酷的几何学”,它们精确地描绘了遥远星体的物理特性,却要求观察者保持绝对的抽离。 凡·德·维尔德质疑道:当我们用数学模型完全解释了宇宙的运行规律之后,我们是否也一并消解了宇宙对人类的“意义”?他试图在精确的科学模型与依然存在的、难以名状的敬畏感之间,寻找一个可以共同栖居的平台。 关键主题: 科学理性对神秘主义的取代、宇宙的疏离感、数学作为终极语言的局限性。 --- 第四部分:铁轨的终点——速度、异化与归属的渴望 本书的最后一部分聚焦于现代性最显著的标志之一:速度与连接。铁轨,作为工业时代效率和统一性的象征,承载了人类征服距离的雄心。凡·德·维尔德深入考察了十九世纪末至二十世纪初的铁路建设史,以及铁路如何彻底重塑了人类的作息时间、商业模式乃至情感交流。 然而,作者并未一味赞颂。他用犀利的目光审视了“速度的异化”。当一切都被设计成可以被快速运输时,停留和沉思的价值在哪里?他描绘了在长途火车上度过一生的人们,他们目睹了风景的快速闪过,却从未真正“到达”任何地方。他们成为了连接点之间的移动容器,而非目的地的体验者。 “铁轨的终点”探讨的并非物理上的终点站,而是精神上的“归属感”的终点。在高度互联却又极度流动的现代世界中,人与土地、人与社区的联系被铁轨的节奏所打乱。本书的结尾停留在这样一个令人深思的画面:一列火车在无边无际的原野上疾驰,乘客们在车厢内各自沉浸于自己的光影世界中,与窗外的广袤大地形成了鲜明的、令人心碎的疏离。 关键主题: 工业化对感官的麻木、速度美学与存在主义焦虑、现代人的漂泊状态。 --- 结语:静默中的邀请 《迷雾之径》是一部邀请读者放慢脚步,重新校准内在指南针的作品。它没有提供简单的答案,而是提供了一系列强有力的、相互碰撞的问题。凡·德·维尔德的文字如同冰冷而清澈的溪水,洗刷着我们对世界习以为常的认知框架,迫使我们在宏大的自然规律与微小的个人经验之间,重新建立起脆弱而又珍贵的对话。这是一部献给所有在现代迷雾中,仍渴望倾听远古回响的心灵的史诗级著作。