Consider this a response to a gift. The Walt Whitman Statue stands here as a cultural exchange. It mirrors the Alexander Pushkin statue at George Washington University in Washington.
Hello travelers. I am excited to share the story of this monument. It is the Walt Whitman Statue. You are now standing on the campus of Moscow State University. Look closely at the statue. It is a response to a gift.
In 2000 Moscow gave Washington D.C. a statue of Alexander Pushkin. Alexander Burganov sculpted that Pushkin statue. He also created this Walt Whitman Statue.
Some other American writers were considered. Mark Twain and Edgar Allan Poe were on the list. Ultimately Whitman was chosen. Professor Pavel Balditsyn said all three writers were significant. Balditsyn is an American literature specialist at MSU.
Before its unveiling Burganov said Whitman was chosen for his poetry. He called it universally dimensioned poetry.
Let’s step back to October 14 2009. The unveiling ceremony took place right here. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attended. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov was present too.
Clinton said Pushkin and Whitman reset poetry. She added that the U.S. and Russia are resetting their relationship. That relationship includes both governments. More importantly it includes the Russian and American people.
Clinton said that some people have a Cold War mentality. They create roadblocks on issues like missile defense. She urged both nations to seek common ground. Disagreements should not end all cooperation. Clinton stated let’s be smarter than our past.
Who was Walt Whitman? He called himself a cosmos. He described himself as the son of Manhattan. Whitman was turbulent. He was fleshy and sensual. Whitman loved eating drinking and breeding. He was no sentimentalist. He stood neither above nor apart from other people. Whitman was no more modest than immodest. He wrote that in Leaves of Grass.
Yassen Zassoursky said Whitman changed the poetical concept. Zassoursky is the President of the Faculty of Journalism at MSU. Thought and perception became key. Formal signs like rhymes became less important.
Balditsyn said Whitman pioneered abolishing plain rhymes. He got rid of images from the preceding poetry system.
However recognition was slow. Whitman’s language was rough. He celebrated low subjects. He described human sexuality. This stirred criticism in 1855.
Balditsyn explained that America was young. Americans did not understand their geniuses. Europeans acknowledged Whitman first. His style impacted 20th-century literature.
Today Whitman is among the most influential poets. He belongs to the greatest poets of the world. His statue has found its place at MSU.
Zassoursky said Whitman was a cosmopolitan poet. He strove to overcome national boundaries. He emphasized belonging to the cosmos. Whitman’s presence on Russian soil is justified. MSU journalism students must read his Song of Myself.
Zassoursky suggests starting with Song of Myself. You might also enjoy O Captain My Captain. Whitman wrote it after Abraham Lincoln’s assassination.
As you depart reflect on Whitman’s message. Remember his connection to Pushkin. Consider the importance of cultural exchange. Appreciate the resetting of relationships.