Join members of the Boston Association of PBK for a book discussion via Zoom, scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, February 17th, 2026, at 7:30 pm. (Please note we are meeting on Tuesday!)

Guests of participants are welcome and please come even if you haven’t finished (or even started!) the book.

The discussion will be on this book:

Walt Whitman's America: A Cultural Biography by David S. Reynolds (671 pages)

In his poetry Walt Whitman set out to encompass all of America and in so doing heal its deepening divisions. This magisterial biography demonstrates the epic scale of his achievement, as well as the dreams and anxieties that impelled it, for it places the poet securely within the political and cultural context of his age.

Combing through the full range of Whitman's writing, David Reynolds shows how Whitman gathered inspiration from every stratum of nineteenth-century American life: the convulsions of slavery and depression; the raffish dandyism of the Bowery "b'hoys"; the exuberant rhetoric of actors, orators, and divines. We see how Whitman reconciled his own sexuality with contemporary social mores and how his energetic courtship of the public presaged the vogues of advertising and celebrity. Brilliantly researched, captivatingly told, Walt Whitman's America is a triumphant work of scholarship that breathes new life into the biographical genre.

We look forward to a lively and wide-ranging discussion with this highly recommended book as a starting place. Please RSVP to thomas@pbkboston.org or to tlaage@hotmail.com.

Thomas Laage is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: PBK Boston Book Club

Time: This is a recurring meeting Meet anytime

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