The Daisaku Ikeda Library

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Creating Waldens: An East-West Conversation on the American Renaissance

Nineteenth-century America saw a great flowering of literary genius and philosophical independence, led by such luminaries as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau and Walt Whitman. Creating Waldens: An East-West Conversation on the American Renaissance—a dialogue by Ronald A. Bosco and Joel Myerson, both previous presidents of the Thoreau Society, and Daisaku Ikeda—pays tribute to these giants, focusing on the universality and relevance of their insights on life, society, nature, education and the struggle to better the world. The co-authors also examine the poetic power of imagination for its capacity to inspire empathy and transcend human division. In doing so, their hope is to inspire modern readers, particularly young people, to lead deeper, more meaningful lives. Bosco is Distinguished Professor of English and American Literature at the University of Albany, State University of New York. Myerson is Carolina Distinguished Professor of American Literature, Emeritus, at the University of South Carolina. The two first met Ikeda in Japan in 2001.