Henry David Thoraeu grew up as a normal boy. His rather poor family earned its income from their pencil-making business, which he worked for later in his life (Poets.org). He graduated from Harvard College in 1837 and as many may know, he and his brother John Thoraeu began a school in 1838 (Bio.com). Recently Thoraeu has returned from a trip not many can relate with. This dependent and inspiring man recently returned from living by a small, remote lake called Walden (Bio.com). When asked why he decided to isolate himself in the wilderness, Thoreau says, “I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to

teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived” (Thoraeu). In our interview with Ralph Waldo Emerson, we asked him what he thought of Thoraeu’s journey and he responded very positively, showing his support for Thoreau in his pursuits. He says he admired Thoreau’s ability to coexist with nature in a way deeper than with just the five senses (Lynch 148). He says that, “Nature never hurries: atom by atom, little by little, she achieves her work” (Bio.com). We went on to speak with Emerson about a close group of authors and poets that he regularly meets with. Thoraeu was asked to join this group not long after he graduated from college (Bio.com).  

Emerson told us this group believes in following one’s intuition and creative imagination in harmony with the natural world and experience life on a deeper and more spiritual level by transcending logic and the limits set by the five physical senses (Bio.com, Lynch 148, Transcendentalism). Walt Whitman shares some of these same beliefs, so we asked him to expound upon these notions. He told us that he believes a nation’s spiritual roots can be found in their literature (Setzer 1). Therefore he appreciates that Thoraeu, a literary figure, has gone on this journey and in doing so, has brought attention to the literary world.    

The  house  by  Walden  Pond    (picture  from  http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2011/07/on-­‐walden-­‐pond-­‐to-­‐live-­‐deliberately.html)  

Various  authors  who  met  with  Emerson  and  his  colleagues  (picture  from  http://bookish-­‐relish.blogspot.com/2012/07/transcendentalism-­‐of-­‐new-­‐england.html)  

Works Cited

Lynch, Tibbie E. "Sense and Transcendence in Emerson, Thoreau,

and Whitman." The South Central Bulletin. By Larry J. Reynolds. No. 4 ed. Vol. Vol. 39. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins

UP, 1982. 148-51. JSTOR. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/view/3188500>.

"Henry David Thoreau Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

"Ralph Waldo Emerson Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

"Walt Whitman." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

"Henry David Thoreau." Poets.org. Academy of American Poets, n.d. Web. 05 Nov. 2013.

"26f. Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy." Transcendentalism, An American Philosophy [ushistory.org]. N.p., n.d. Web. 05

Nov. 2013.

Thoreau, Henry David. Walden: Henry David Thoreau. New Rochelle, NY: Spoken Arts, 1985. Print.

Setzer, Susan. Whitman, Transcendentalism and the American Dream: Alliance with Nature’s Government through Language. 1st ed.

Vol. 9. Fairfield, IA: Maharishi University of Management, 1999. Print.

New York Times Heading Picture-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:New_york_times_front_page_1906-06-26.jpg