For those of you interested in an excellent resource to help you better appreciate Whitman’s Song of Myself, you’d be hard-pressed to do better than this MOOC (massive online open course):
The Writing University Open Courses website provides MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) for creative writing through the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, which will offer new opportunities for the study and practice of creative writing and literary analysis to an unlimited number of participants around the world.
The first MOOC, Every Atom: Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself, offers participants the opportunity to read, consider, and discuss the epic poem over a six-week course. Roy J. Carver Professor of English Ed Folsom and International Writing Program Director Christopher Merrill will lead the examination of Song of Myself through video lectures, live breakout sessions, and ongoing online discussion. Hosted by the University of Iowa’s Virtual Writing University, Every Atom will open in mid-February 2014.
Even after living with this poem for over a year, I am still gaining some very helpful insights through this course. Go here to sign up.