---
name: "Whitman: \"I felt down in my soul the clear and unmistakable conviction to disobey all\""
date: 2026-05-13
link: https://www.themarginalian.org/2026/05/13/whitman-emerson-criticism/
linkText: "themarginalian.org"
source: "The Marginalian"
topics:
  - quotes
tags: [quote, whitman, creativity]
description: "Whitman's resolve in the face of Emerson's critique of Leaves of Grass — surfaced in a Maria Popova essay on creative confidence."
---

> I felt down in my soul the clear and unmistakable conviction to disobey all, and pursue my own way.

— Walt Whitman, recalling his response to Ralph Waldo Emerson's attempt (during a long Boston Common walk in 1860) to convince him to soften the "Children of Adam" poems. Whitman didn't. Cited by Popova in a piece on how to receive criticism from people you admire.