Classic and Contemporary Poetry: Explained

Lynn Emanuel's poem "Walt, I Salute You!" is a vibrant and dynamic ode to Walt Whitman, capturing the spirit of Whitman's expansive, inclusive poetic vision and reimagining it through the lens of a contemporary speaker who intertwines her identity with Whitman's. Emanuel's poem is a bold dialogue across time, an homage that not only celebrates Whitman but also extends his poetic innovations into a modern context, blending personal and collective narratives.

From the outset, Emanuel establishes a tone of reverence mixed with personal camaraderie: "From the Year Of Our Lord 19** from the Continent of the Amnesias, from the back streets of Pittsburgh... Walt, I salute you!" The speaker locates herself both geographically and temporally, linking her own poetic endeavors to Whitman’s legacy, but with a playful and intimate acknowledgment of her own and the collective's forgetfulness and dislocation.

The declaration "Here we are. In Love! In a Poem!" emphasizes the transformative and immersive power of poetry that Whitman celebrated—its ability to create a metaphysical space where individuals meet, interact, and blend. Emanuel's invocation of "Slouching toward rebirth in our hats and curls!" is both a nod to Whitman's embrace of rebirth and renewal and a playful reference to Yeats, suggesting a lineage of poetic influence and transformation.

Describing herself as "just a woman, chaperoned, actual, vague and hysterical," the speaker contrasts her outwardly mundane existence with the rich, tumultuous inner life she shares with Whitman: "Outwardly, my life is one of irreproachable tedium; inside, like you, I am in my hydroelectric mode." This internal mode is dynamic and powerful, capable of reshaping landscapes and perceptions, mirroring Whitman’s own visionary capacity.

The poem then expands into a celebration of connectedness and universality, a key theme in Whitman's work: "Walt, everything I see I am! Nothing is too small for my interest in it." This line echoes Whitman's transcendental assertions of self and unity with the world, reinforcing the idea that the poet encompasses and is encompassed by the myriad details of life.

Emanuel’s imagery is vivid and eclectic, moving from the personal to the universal, from the mundane to the cosmic. She evokes Whitman's spirit in scenes of daily life and inanimate objects, claiming, "I am in every dog and hairpin. They are me! I am you!" This melding of identities and experiences culminates in a fantastical vision of Whitman as a town, an environment, a universe: "Walt, you are a whole small town erupting!"

In the climactic transformation, "And now, in total hallucination and inhabitation, tired of being yourself — Walt, the champ, the chump, the cheeky — you become me!" Emanuel blurs the lines between poet and muse, past and present, self and other. This ultimate merging of identities is both an homage and an assertion, positioning Emanuel as a successor to Whitman's poetic legacy, continuing to explore the boundaries of self and language.

"Walt, I Salute You!" is a testament to the enduring influence of Whitman’s poetry, reinterpreted through Emanuel’s unique voice. It celebrates the ongoing dialogue between poets across generations, a conversation that is as much about identity and existence as it is about the words on the page. The poem is a playful, profound, and powerful homage to the ways in which Whitman’s work continues to inspire and challenge contemporary poets.

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