During the summer I took a course on the American poet Walt Whitman. In posting a response on the class bulletin board it dawned on me that there were similarities between he and Prince (Okay, in my mind I found comparisons.

Anyway, was Prince influenced by Whitman or any other literary greats?[/b]

Hey! The do look alike, right?



Here's what I posted: (I know it's a bit long. PLEASE don't feel obligated to read all or any of it.)

When I was in high school over twenty years ago I didn't read Whitman or anything as sexy. I guess the most controversial text I'd read was "The Catcher in the Rye." I remember that I really enjoyed this book because it was so different from anything I'd ever read in school. It just felt very honest and real to me.

Based on what I've read thus far, I don't think that Whitman was trying to be controversial, just honest and real. What I think he probably felt was something that the singer George Michael said in the song I Want Your Sex: "Sex is natural, sex is good/not everybody does it, but everybody should."

Speaking of saucy lyrics, I think one of the reasons I was such a big fan of the musician Prince back in the day, was because he made music that was cutting-edge. That he was an enigma was very intriguing to me as well. In retrospect, I feel that he was my musical version of Walt Whitman. (I wonder if anyone has ever compared him to the poet?) Since many of his songs were ripe with sexuality, they were considered taboo. In fact, sexuality was a huge part of his persona and mystique. Albums (vinyl, not CD!) like, For You, Prince, Dirty Mind, Controversy, 1999 and Purple Rain, to name a few, were my Leaves of Grass. Prince’s lyrics were both overt (e.g. Erotic City, Do Me, Baby) and covert (e.g. Little Red Corvette ). Like Whitman’s “Spontaneous Me” Prince’s "Darling Nikki" touched on the subject of masturbation; however, unlike the risqué poem, the act is not alluded to, but mentioned outright:

I knew a girl named Nikki
I guess you could say she was a sex fiend
I met her in a hotel lobby
masturbating with a magazine

While I do not recall any lyrics that dealt with homoerotic love, Prince’s androgynous look did leave many people to speculate that he was gay. He addressed the public’s perception in the song Controversy: Am I black or white/Am I straight or gay? He addressed it again in the song Uptown:

What's up little girl?
I ain't got time to play
Baby didn't say too much
She said, Are you gay?
Kinda took me by suprise
I didn't know what to do
I just looked her in her eyes
And I said, No, are u?

I must confess when I read about Whitman’s fondness for fragrances and cleanliness, Prince's video, "When Doves Cry," immediately came to mind. (I kid you not!) In it, he is in a bathtub in the middle of a room; flowers are strewn all over the floor.

Lastly, song titles like America, The Dance Electric and God are very similar to titles of Whitman poems: America, I Sing the Body Electric, and Gods, respectively. I have to wonder if perhaps Prince was a fan of the 19th century poet? Furthermore, if Whitman were around during the latter decades of the 20th century, would he have been a fan of Prince? *smile*

People call me rude
I wish we were all nude
I wish there was no black and white
I wish there were no rules
~Controversy

freek out!

but seriously...this is the kinna thread i dig...makes ya think a little...



edit, go away, come again...well, never...
[This message was edited Mon Oct 21 12:11:43 PDT 2002 by PlastikLuvAffair]

great post! very interesting.
i have studied literature, american and english, but alas, i have never really read whitman. i remember reading some of d. h. lawrence's poetry and the images reminded me very much of lyrics from prince's come CD, which was just out. check out the poem, "love on the farm" and compare to "pheromone."
also, prince must have been familiar, at least in a cursory sense, with homer's ulysses, since he based a whole musical production on it.

It's interesting you should point that out. Another author that comes irresistibly to mind regarding Prince's perceived literary influences is, without a doubt, F. Scott Fitzgerald, who wrote 'The Great Gatsby'. Why do I say this?

A quick glance will reveal that the main premise of 'Under The Cherry Moon' bears more than a passing resemblance to the overall theme of 'The Great Gatsby'.
Interestingly, the premise for both stories is a tragic love story where one of the main characters is killed as a direct result of their love for an unattainable significant-other.
Another similarity: despite the fact that the story of 'Under The cherry Moon' has a foreign modern setting forced upon it, the overall refined and opulent ambience of both tales is pure "roaring twenties" ('The Great Gatsby' is set in the 1920's.)

Also, both Prince and Fitzgerald hail from Minnessota...


.

Your responses are awesome. I wouldn't have made these connections. Keep 'em comin' folks!

this reminds me: in the new issue of uptown, there's an article that compares p 2 picasso...pretty interestin stuff...

When Purple Rain came out, reviewers were comparing it to Citizen Kane. Never saw CK so, I'm not sure about the similarities.

UptownDeb said:

Supernova said:

yeah, really...i haven't seen "citizen kane", either...all's i know is there's sumfin about a sled called "rosebud" in it...

UptownDeb said:

OMG Your avatar is beautiful!!!

UptownDeb said:

What the hell. Prince and Whitman, Under the Cherry Moon and The Great Gatsby, we might as well take it as read that Purple Rain was the '80s equivalent of Citizen Kane. Speaking of which, I often wonder whether 'Jughead' was Prince's answer to that second soliloquoy in Hamlet - the rich use of words and punctuation in both is surely no coincidence. There again, who cannot fail to notice the beauty and futility of the tramps in Waiting for Godot echoed in 'Wedding Feast?'

To be succinct - Citizen Kane is about a young boy snatched from sheer happines and plopped down into the dregs of wealth and privilege without any warmth or depth. He grows up manipulating people and statues, but can't regain that lost happiness. He dies yearning for a lost moment - (rosebud) but no one can see behind his huge exterior to the simple desires of his heart. Now, does that sound like Purple Rain?

UptownDeb said:

from the princebonics it looks like Theodore Geisel may have been an influence

Songs like "Dolphin" came from a period when P was highly enamoured with Betty Eadie's "Into The Light" book.

Similar to Citizen Kane as was previoulsy posted but also because it was a semi-fictional account of an actual person and their environment of actual people living during the time of the release of the film...Kane-Hearst, The Kid(lol)-Prince.

langebleu said:

At least some sense...

Prince and literature?!?! HA!

I´m studying English/American literature at University. NEVER -I said NEVER- connected Prince with literature, though I´m a great follower of his music...

Please, leave the classics in peace...

Oh my goodness thats how I love Prince
he is so sexy in that picture thanks
UptownDeb and I love your Avatar can't
answer the question right now its getting
a little steamy in here. I have to
take a shower damnnn he is fine

alfon said:[quote]

langebleu said:

At least some sense...

Prince and literature?!?! HA!

I´m studying English/American literature at University. NEVER -I said NEVER- connected Prince with literature, though I´m a great follower of his music...

Please, leave the classics in peace...[/quote
---
Stop being a snob!!! I read a poem in English lit that used a Dafidil as a symbol of a man's love. I do not recall the name of the poem or the poet but, Lovesexy was out at the time and Prince is sitting on top of a dafidil and I always belived this came from the sybolism in the poem. If I recall the poem I will come back and add more.

I recall reading a thread on Moby's web board mentioning Dorothy Parker, and someone else replying to mention The Ballad of Dorothy Parker. Perhaps this was very ignorant of me, but I always thought the name was made up by Prince until I read that post. Apparently she was a literary figure, and it was probably not a coincidence that Prince chose that name.

I'm afraid I don't have any details about her, but I'm sure a google search would bring up some info.

Enjoyed reading your thread Uptown! Your thesis was presented quite nicely!

UptownDeb said:

I cant think of any references in his songs about this either, but he has written a hellova lot of songs from a womans perspective( Sugar Walls,Nasty Girl,If I Was...,Nothing Compares 2 U...etc).

---

Influenced by those writers? Interesting theory, but methinks he's just a guy who actually LIKES sex! I mean I'd personally like to make comparisons between Prince and someone like Jeff Koons, but the thruth is Prince doesn't seem to be that fond of "fine" arts. He does have the aesthetic eye (or rather the ear) that equals up to the greats on other forms of arts, but his still very much the All-American boy. I guess, he's just always been too busy to really study other areas of art than just the edgier aspects of popular music. In fact, he seems to be disconcerningly drawn to all kinds of new age crap when it comes down to literature.

Chacmool said:

If you haven't check out some of DP's work - great stuff - if a little depressing at times - although some of her quotes can be used as great put downs.

As for literature influences - It's obvious Prince has great taste as he quote's a huge chunk of Edward Lear's Table & The Chair on Gonna Be A Beautiful Night...now that's literature genius!!!

Oh nearly forgot Dr Suess quotes in Housequake.....even better!
[This message was edited Tue Oct 22 0:15:02 PDT 2002 by Borribal]

Borribal said:

That was actually one of Sheila E.'s ideas.

Novabreaker said:

Yeah but can you honestly see her doing it without his go ahead?!!?!?

yes.

?
[This message was edited Sat Mar 1 3:29:24 PST 2003 by IstenSzek]

LadyCabDriver said:

You took my words, LCD!! I was thinking the same thing, gorgeous...

well, at least this discussion is pointless as far as his current literature influence is concerned. As he claims himself, now he reads only the Bible.

giotto said:

I The Great Gatsby and Scott Fitzgerald!!!

The Great Gatsby is my favorite novel.