Emersons Works

The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson is a compilation of essays, speeches, and poetry which exemplify Emerson's transcendentalist beliefs and his unique literary style. Known for his philosophical musings on individualism, nature, and self-reliance, Emerson's writing captures the essence of 19th century American Romanticism. His essays, such as 'Self-Reliance' and 'Nature', provide profound insights into the human condition and encourage readers to seek truth and authenticity in their lives. The breadth of genres represented in this collection showcases Emerson's versatility as a writer and thinker, making it a valuable addition to any literary enthusiast's library. Ralph Waldo Emerson, a leading figure in the transcendentalist movement, was inspired by his own experiences, philosophical studies, and close relationship with nature to produce his groundbreaking works. Influenced by the likes of Plato, Goethe, and the Bhagavad Gita, Emerson's writings offer a fresh perspective on spirituality, morality, and the interconnectedness of all living beings. His emphasis on the importance of individual thought and intuition continues to resonate with readers today, making his Collected Works a timeless treasure of American literature. I highly recommend The Collected Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson to those interested in delving into the depths of transcendentalist thought and exploring the complexities of human nature. Emerson's eloquent prose and profound ideas will challenge readers to reflect on their own beliefs and values, making this collection a thought-provoking and enriching reading experience.

"Other men are lenses through which we read our own minds." ― Ralph Waldo Emerson, Representative Men Representative Men is a collection of seven lectures by Ralph Waldo Emerson, published as a book of essays in 1850. The first essay discusses the role played by "great men" in society, and the remaining six each extol the virtues of one of six men deemed by Emerson to be great. Emerson was inspired by the Romantic belief that there exists a "general mind" that expresses itself with special intensity through certain individual lives. It reflects an appreciation of genius as a quality distributed to the few for the benefit of the many.

Emerson remains one of America’s least understood writers, having spawned neither school nor follower. Those wishing to discover or 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 David Mikics in this richly illustrated Annotated Emerson.

"Every great man is a unique". R.W Emerson told us that Self-confidence is always about independence : "What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think. This rule, equally arduous in actual and in intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."

Recipient of the Francis Parkman Prize from the Society of American Historians Ralph Waldo Emerson is one of the most important figures in the history of American thought, religion, and literature. The vitality of his writings and the unsettling power of his example continue to influence us more than a hundred years after his death. Now Robert D. Richardson Jr. brings to life an Emerson very different from the old stereotype of the passionless Sage of Concord. Drawing on a vast amount of new material, including correspondence among the Emerson brothers, Richardson gives us a rewarding intellectual biography that is also a portrait of the whole man. These pages present a young suitor, a grief-stricken widower, an affectionate father, and a man with an abiding genius for friendship. The great spokesman for individualism and self-reliance turns out to have been a good neighbor, an activist citizen, a loyal brother. Here is an Emerson who knew how to laugh, who was self-doubting as well as self-reliant, and who became the greatest intellectual adventurer of his age. Richardson has, as much as possible, let Emerson speak for himself through his published works, his many journals and notebooks, his letters, his reported conversations. This is not merely a study of Emerson's writing and his influence on others; it is Emerson's life as he experienced it. We see the failed minister, the struggling writer, the political reformer, the poetic liberator. The Emerson of this book not only influenced Thoreau, Fuller, Whitman, Dickinson, and Frost, he also inspired Nietzsche, William James, Baudelaire, Marcel Proust, Virginia Woolf, and Jorge Luis Borges. Emerson's timeliness is persistent and striking: his insistence that literature and science are not separate cultures, his emphasis on the worth of every individual, his respect for nature. Richardson gives careful attention to the enormous range of Emerson's readings—from Persian poets to George Sand—and to his many friendships and personal encounters—from Mary Moody Emerson to the Cherokee chiefs in Boston—evoking both the man and the times in which he lived. Throughout this book, Emerson's unquenchable vitality reaches across the decades, and his hold on us endures.

Ronald A. Bosco and Joel Myerson have gathered Emerson’s most memorable prose published under his direct supervision, enhanced by additional writings. Ralph Waldo Emerson: The Major Prose is the only single-volume anthology that presents the full range of Emerson’s written and spoken prose—sermons, lectures, addresses, and essays.

Drawing primarily from previously unpublished manuscripts in the Ralph Waldo Emerson Memorial Association Collection in the Houghton Library at Harvard University, recent editions of Emerson's correspondence, journals and notebooks, sermons, and early lectures have provided authoritative texts that inspire readers to consider Emerson's place in American culture afresh. The two-volume Later Lectures of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1843–1871, presents the texts of forty-eight complete and unpublished lectures delivered during the crucial middle years of Emerson's career. They offer his thoughts on New England and “Old World” history and culture, poetic theory, education, the history and uses of intellect—as well as his ideas on race relations and women's rights, subjects that sparked many debates. These final volumes contain some of Emerson's most timelessly relevant work and are sure to engage and inform any reader interested in discovering one of our country's greatest intellectuals. The following sections, although appearing only in the volume designated, contain information that pertains to both volumes and are available on the University of Georgia Press website. Volume 1: 1843–1854 contains: Preface Works Frequently Cited Historical and Textual Introduction Volume 2: 1855–1871 contains: Manuscript Sources of Emerson's Later Lectures in the Houghton Library of Harvard University Index to Works by Emerson General Index