The Collected Works of Ruth Whitman: Personas and Personhood - Softcover

Ruth Whitman

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0814352456 ISBN 13: 9780814352458

Publisher: Wayne State University Press, 2025

Synopsis

Positioning poet Ruth Whitman as a necessary and radical voice within the American poetry canon. Ruth Whitman's poetry and other creative work have left an undeniable mark on twentieth-century literature. Known as a poet and a translator of Yiddish poetry, Whitman was intensely interested in gender and women's stories. For the first time in a single volume, readers can engage with her eight published books of poetry as well as the never-before-seen Atlantic Light and her prose practicum, Becoming a Poet. The first half of the collection contains persona poems of fascinating women—from Tamsen Donner of the ill-fated Donner Party, to Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut, to modern dancer Isadora Duncan. The second half takes up many themes, including Jewishness, domestic life, and motherhood. Whitman's distinctive methods and influences, alongside her unique poetic technique, make clear her commitment to expanding the boundaries of poetic form as well as exploring gender, family, the self, creativity, mortality, and memory in poetry. This text firmly positions Whitman as a necessary and radical voice within the American poetry canon.

About this title

About the Authors

Ruth Whitman (1922–99) was a renowned poet, translator, and performer. She published fourteen volumes of poetry—original works and several translations of Yiddish poetry, including An Anthology of Modern Yiddish Poetry (Wayne State University Press). Whitman won numerous awards, fellowships, and grants, including a 1984–85 Senior Fulbright Writer-in-Residence Fellowship to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and a 1974–75 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Grant. During her career, Whitman taught at many universities, including Harvard, Radcliffe, and MIT.

David Houghton is an adjunct professor of English in New England. He coauthored The Chinese of the Mendocino Coast with Dorothy Bear and teaches writing, rhetoric, and literature. He is the son of Ruth Whitman.

From the Back Cover

Ruth Whitman's poetry and other creative work have left an undeniable mark on twentieth-century literature. For the first time in a single volume, longtime fans and new readers alike can engage with her eight published books of poetry as well as the never-before-seen Atlantic Light. The first half of the collection contains persona poems of fascinating women--from American pioneer Tamsen Donner of the ill-fated Donner Party, to Egyptian pharaoh Hatshepsut, to modern dancer Isadora Duncan. The second half takes up themes including Jewishness, domestic life, and motherhood. Concluding this important collection is an update of Becoming a Poet, Whitman's nonfiction volume of practical advice and reflections on her teaching philosophy. While Whitman is already a household name for some, this collection firmly positions her as a necessary and radical voice within the American poetry canon.

Edition details

• Publisher: Wayne State University Press
• Publication date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0814352456
• ISBN 13: 9780814352458
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 340
• Editor: Jennifer Kronovet