The Annotated Emerson

by Ralph Waldo Emerson, David Mikics, Phillip Lopate

Overview

A brilliant essayist and a master of the aphorism (“Our moods do not believe in each other”; “Money often costs too much”), Emerson has inspired countless writers. He challenged Americans to shut their ears against Europe’s “courtly muses” and to forge a new, distinctly American cultural identity. But he remains one of America’s least understood writers. And, by his own admission, he spawned neither school nor follower (he valued independent thought too much). Now, in this annotated selection of Emerson’s writings, David Mikics instructs the reader in a larger appreciation of Emerson’s essential works and the remarkable thinker who produced them.

Full of color illustrations and rich in archival photographs, this volume offers much for the specialist and general reader. In his running commentaries on Emerson’s essays, addresses, and poems, Mikics illuminates contexts, allusions, and language likely to cause difficulty to modern readers. He quotes extensively from Emerson’s Journal to shed light on particular passages or lines and examines Emerson the essayist, poet, itinerant lecturer, and political activist. Finally, in his Foreword, Phillip Lopate makes the case for Emerson as a spectacular truth teller—a model of intellectual labor and anti-dogmatic sanity.

Anyone who values Emerson will want to own this edition. Those wishing to discover, or to reacquaint themselves with, Emerson’s writings but who have not known where or how to begin will not find a better starting place or more reliable guide than The Annotated Emerson.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780674049239
Publisher:	Harvard University Press
Publication date:	02/07/2012
Pages:	576
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 9.60(h) x 1.80(d)

About the Author

David Mikics is John and Rebecca Moores Professor of English at the University of Houston.

Phillip Lopate is a professor at Columbia University, where he directs the graduate nonfiction program.

What People are Saying About This

Harold Bloom

David Mikics's The Annotated Emerson is the best possible introduction to Emerson's prose and poetry.

Paul Kane

Impressive in its thoroughness… the author's enthusiasm for his subject is infectious.
— Paul Kane, Vassar College

Philip F. Gura

Mikics's annotations are gracious, helpful, and genuinely illuminating. This is a 'reader's edition' in the truest sense.
— Philip F. Gura, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Editorial Reviews

The #1 essayist and pure prose stylist in U.S. literature is on grand display in this lavish edition of essays, poems, and passages from Emerson’s voluminous journals. The neophyte entering the Emersonian universe, as opposed to the scholar, is best served by Mikics’s careful annotations and cogent commentary surrounding these selections, though even the most knowledgeable scholar would benefit. With so many collections available over the years, the selection process is not easy. Although not the greatest of poets, Emerson can certainly lay claim to greatness as an engaged philosopher, as well as in his influence in the golden age of American writing. Mikics, University of Houston English professor, compares Emerson to Shakespeare in the way he pervades the culture. In fact, one of the most insightful essays is on “Shakspeare” (as Emerson insists on spelling the Bard’s name). Of keen interest are Emerson’s writings against slavery; his condemnation of Martin Van Buren regarding the Cherokee nation’s Trail of Tears; his sentiments on Margaret Fuller, whom, along with Thoreau, he held in the highest esteem. Also included are such touchstones as the Divinity School Address, “Nature,” “Self-Reliance,” and “The Poet.” 92 color illus. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

In his writing, Emerson favored fire imagery, and his own fiery intellect brightens every page of The Annotated Emerson, a wonderful new collection, meticulously annotated by David Mikics...In the lush pages of The Annotated Emerson readers will find that fire still warm, able to illuminate and sear.

Cleveland Plain Dealer - Daniel Dyer

Mikics's annotations are gracious, helpful, and genuinely illuminating. This is a 'reader's edition' in the truest sense.

Philip F. Gura

Copiously annotated, richly illustrated and handsomely bound, a volume all lovers not just of literature but of freedom will want on their shelves…[Emerson's] astute observations and generous vision of the world within and without still have much to teach.

West Australian - William Yeoman

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote essays about Shakespeare, John Brown, Stonehenge, Montaigne, best friend Henry David Thoreau, circles, nature, and self-reliance. One of his most famous lines—"the shot heard round the world" from his poem "Concord Hymn"—is still used to describe singular events in sports and history. The Annotated Emerson, edited by David Mikics, an English professor at the University of Houston, explains language and allusions that may be foreign to today's readers. By doing this, Mikics makes a great American essayist, whom Phillip Lopate in his foreword calls a "hero of intellectual labor," readily accessible to a new generation.

Boston Globe - Jan Gardner

What a pleasure to have, in The Annotated Emerson, a lovely and helpful version of many of Emerson's bests, gathered and annotated by David Mikics and introduced by Phillip Lopate. This is in no way Emerson lite. These are not shortcuts but rather a welcome frame for Emerson's particular kind of difficulty. The book's introductions curate the voluminous career, and the wide margins of the pages, dappled with thoughtful notes, give the meditations space to unfurl. This is a book that gives us each hope to approach the "new yet unapproachable" Emerson. Any lay reader will find an open door here. Those who already love Emerson and know him well may find a few cherished things missing, but they may also find a few things they didn't know they wanted to find.

Barnes & Noble Review - Tess Gallagher

David Mikics's The Annotated Emerson is the best possible introduction to Emerson's prose and poetry.

Harold Bloom

Mikics has put together a handsome edition of Emerson's most popular and enduring work. First-time readers of Emerson will find the collection useful because the annotations reference the common occurrences of Emerson's attention and, along with the illustrations, place Emerson's work in the context of the 19th century. More-experienced readers of Emerson will value the many annotations that reference his journals, letters, and other essays not gathered here.

Choice - R. T. Prus

Impressive in its thoroughness… the author's enthusiasm for his subject is infectious.

Paul Kane

Mikics has put together a handsome edition of Emerson's most popular and enduring work. First-time readers of Emerson will find the collection useful because the annotations reference the common occurrences of Emerson's attention and, along with the illustrations, place Emerson's work in the context of the 19th century. More-experienced readers of Emerson will value the many annotations that reference his journals, letters, and other essays not gathered here.
— R. T. Prus

Choice

Copiously annotated, richly illustrated and handsomely bound, a volume all lovers not just of literature but of freedom will want on their shelves…[Emerson's] astute observations and generous vision of the world within and without still have much to teach.
— William Yeoman

West Australian

Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote essays about Shakespeare, John Brown, Stonehenge, Montaigne, best friend Henry David Thoreau, circles, nature, and self-reliance. One of his most famous lines—"the shot heard round the world" from his poem "Concord Hymn"—is still used to describe singular events in sports and history. The Annotated Emerson, edited by David Mikics, an English professor at the University of Houston, explains language and allusions that may be foreign to today's readers. By doing this, Mikics makes a great American essayist, whom Phillip Lopate in his foreword calls a "hero of intellectual labor," readily accessible to a new generation.
— Jan Gardner

Boston Globe

What a pleasure to have, in The Annotated Emerson, a lovely and helpful version of many of Emerson's bests, gathered and annotated by David Mikics and introduced by Phillip Lopate. This is in no way Emerson lite. These are not shortcuts but rather a welcome frame for Emerson's particular kind of difficulty. The book's introductions curate the voluminous career, and the wide margins of the pages, dappled with thoughtful notes, give the meditations space to unfurl. This is a book that gives us each hope to approach the "new yet unapproachable" Emerson. Any lay reader will find an open door here. Those who already love Emerson and know him well may find a few cherished things missing, but they may also find a few things they didn't know they wanted to find.
— Tess Gallagher

Barnes & Noble Review

In his writing, Emerson favored fire imagery, and his own fiery intellect brightens every page of The Annotated Emerson, a wonderful new collection, meticulously annotated by David Mikics...In the lush pages of The Annotated Emerson readers will find that fire still warm, able to illuminate and sear.
— Daniel Dyer

Cleveland Plain Dealer

As with other recent annotated editions from Harvard (such as of Pride and Prejudice) this is an oversized illustrated volume of writings from the canon, with instructive notes, establishing context and defining terms, placed within the wide margins next to the text itself. Editor Mikics has selected the best known of Emerson's works but also includes excerpts from his journals, selections from lesser-read books, and a number of his poems. The volume is prefaced by a thoughtful foreword by Philip Lopate and a very useful editor's introduction. Unfortunately, there is no index by which readers may make connections from piece to piece or note to note. The selections broaden our sense of Emerson. For example, in an excerpt from his English Traits, in which he describes meeting an aged William Wordsworth, we can see both Emerson's quiet humor as well as his keen ability to derive a general truth from a specific personal observation. VERDICT General readers under an obligation to read Emerson—never ideal reading circumstances—may yet be daunted, but they shouldn't be with these notes and illustrations. All in all, this handsome edition will be useful both to newcomers and to Emerson vets.—Margaret Heilbrun, Library Journal

Library Journal