Whitman, Archives, and New Media

In thinking about the "larger questions" regarding "Song of Myself," one--or a couple-- that strikes me concerns the tension between the preservation of the individual in the context of the larger whole self, composed of all selves, according to Whitman. How can his soul be content to be known or unknown if he is including all souls together? Can the individual remain as such when all are considered one? How does a soul remain unknown if all souls are counted together? Couldn't you assume to know my soul, if yours and mine are one?

As for electronic archives, I think there are positive aspects and negative. That a body of work such as the various editions of "Leaves of Grass" is made accessible is fabulous. Readers can readily compare different volumes; and works that maybe are out of reach for certain people are easily available.

Downsides:

Reading long works on the computer hurts my eyes.

Navigating around within the text is not so easy. I was trying to locate the section that I'm covering in my first paragraph of this blog, and found it, and then lost it. I couldn't remember the page number, and all that scrolling was making my eyes blurry (I just checked again, and still can't find it).

The computer acts as a buffer between the reader and the text, creating distance. Books facilitate intimate interaction, resulting in closer reading, deeper understanding, and greater appreciation for a work. And yes, they are easier to take to bed (or anywhere) than a computer.

I think that classroom discussions are probably easier if everyone has a copy of the piece in front of them. Not everyone has a laptop (and I find that laptops can sometimes act as a kind of barrier between students who have them and the rest of the class). I think our own classroom discussion would have been easier and richer if, when we covered a particular passage, everyone could have followed along.

Jesus, I'm long-winded!