The Proceedings recently received a very interesting submission concerning Walt Whitman’s possible association with the Order. The brief essay focuses almost entirely on the haunting and mysterious line in canto III of “Song of Myself”:
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“Shall I postpone my acceptation and realization and scream at my eyes?”
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It would seem, according to the author of the piece (now out for peer review) that “acceptation” was a term adopted by some of the Fourierist cells as an alternate name for “Attending.” The essay goes on to allege that “screaming at one’s eyes” was a form of Negation developed by Whitman himself. If the analysis is correct, considerable avenues for further exploration would obviously immediately be opened before those equipped for the necessary labor. It is, however, too early to say if the author is fully in command of his/her argument. Closer work with Whitman’s oeuvre is wanted, and the membership is encouraged to take up this happy task.