On the Poetics of Self-Knowledge: Poetry in Parley Pratt's Autobiography

Keywords

Mormon studies, Parley Pratt, Self-Knowledge, LDS leaders

Abstract

Interrupting ONE of the many banal travel itineraries that punctu ate Parley Pratt's Autobiography is a striking poem written—according to the text—during Pratt's first visit to Niagara Falls.2 Pedestrian though the itinerary is, it is not without narrative importance. The journey in question was set in motion by an event that Pratt makes into something of a centerpiece for the Autobiography. Soon after he had been ordained a member of the original Quorum of the Twelve and immediately after he had received his "endowment of power" in the Kirtland Temple, "Elder Heber C. Kimball and oth ers entered my house, and being filled with the spirit of prophecy, they blessed me and my wife," telling him that—despite a number of difficulties—he would "go to Upper Canada, even to the city of To ronto" to "find a people prepared for the

Original Publication Citation

“On the Poetics of Self-Knowledge: Poetry in Parley Pratt’s Autobiography.” Journal of Mormon History 37.1 (Winter 2011): 173–78.

Document Type

Peer-Reviewed Article

Publication Date

2011-12

Permanent URL

http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/6091

Publisher

JSTOR

Language

English

College

Religious Education

Department

Ancient Scripture

University Standing at Time of Publication

Assistant Professor

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