Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002
Includes bibliographical references (p. [173]-208) and index
An introduction to eccentric benevolence -- Dangerous philanthropy -- Harriet Jacobs and the subversion of style -- Suffering beyond description -- Whitman and the humanitarian possibilities of lilacs -- Eccentric benevolence and its limits -- Afterword: AIDS and unconventional caring