Name That Story part 4928
April 28, 2015 1:55 AM Subscribe
Trying to remember the name of a short story I read some years ago. It involved a university class and criticism of Walt Whitman...
It was written from the point of view of a male student, who wanted to impress a female classmate but clashed with his professor. The boy was arrogant about his own writing ability/literary genius - I think he may have failed his final paper, but the girl passed? One thing that sticks out is that the boy was a big fan of Walt Whitman, and the professor derided this by saying something about how his work is more suited to teenage boys who masturbate a lot. (Something involving wanking, anyway.)
This story was the first time I'd heard of Walt Whitman (don't look so shocked, I'm not American!) and the masturbation comparison has somehow stuck in my head since! Does this ring a bell with anyone?
It was written from the point of view of a male student, who wanted to impress a female classmate but clashed with his professor. The boy was arrogant about his own writing ability/literary genius - I think he may have failed his final paper, but the girl passed? One thing that sticks out is that the boy was a big fan of Walt Whitman, and the professor derided this by saying something about how his work is more suited to teenage boys who masturbate a lot. (Something involving wanking, anyway.)
This story was the first time I'd heard of Walt Whitman (don't look so shocked, I'm not American!) and the masturbation comparison has somehow stuck in my head since! Does this ring a bell with anyone?
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posted by mippy at 1:42 PM on April 28, 2015