RALPH WALDO EMERSON (1803-1882) was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet.

As one of the architects of the Transcendentalist movement in the mid-nineteenth century, Emerson embraced a philosophy that championed the individual, emphasized independent thought, and prized "the splendid labyrinth of one’s own perceptions."  When asked to sum up his work, he said his central doctrine was "the infinitude of the private man."  More than any writer of his time, Emerson forged a style distinct from his European predecessors and embodied and defined what it meant to be an American.  Matthew Arnold called Emerson's essays "the most important work done in prose."


* THE ESSENTIAL WRITINGS OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON (Modern Library, 2000).  Edited by Brooks Atkinson, with an Introduction by Mary Oliver. -- EPUB

* THE SELECTED LETTERS OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON (Columbia University Press, 1997).  Edited by Joel Myerson. -- PDF