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One hundred and fifty years have passed since Walt Whitman first published Leaves of Grass, a collection of twelve poems that irrevocably altered the development of poetry and literature. His magnum opus shattered existing notions of poetry, breaking all existing conventions in terms of subject matter, language, and style. Leaves of Grass opened the door not only for poets, but writers, artists, musicians, and thinkers to break down barriers in their own work; despite never reaching a mass audience during the artist's lifetime, its tremendous impact is being felt a century and a half later. Today, we are still trying to understand who Whitman was, what he was saying, and what he was styling himself to be. Hosted by Carl Hancock Rux, "Walt Whitman: Song of Myself" explores how a 36-year old freelance journalist and part-time house-builder living in Brooklyn created his outrageous, groundbreaking work. We join Whitman on a walk through the urban streets, imagining the sights, sounds and music, from Stephen Foster to Italian opera, that profoundly affected him and indelibly shaped his poetry. The city transformed Whitman, and Whitman in turn transformed the wild diversity and intensity of the city into a radical, passionate vision for America. In his poetry, he refused to be censored: he celebrated the body and sexuality; he embraced the invisible and the disenfranchised, from women to slaves to prostitutes. His hopes to heal the country of its deep political divisions through his poetry were dashed by the Civil War, but his work lives on as a vital life-affirming force. In this hour-long special, Rux speaks with writers, poets, musicians, and scholars who tell the story of this extraordinary, self-styled celebrity. Guests include writers Michael Cunningham and Phillip Lopate; poets Martin Espada, hailed by some as a contemporary Whitman, and Ishle Yi Park, Queens poet laureate; composers John Adams and Ned Rorem; choreographer Bill T. Jones; Whitman scholars Karen Karbiener and David Reynolds; and many, many others. Actors including Jeffrey Wright and Paul Giammatti share readings of Whitman's poetry, which, one hundred and fifty years on, still astonishes.
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Piece Description
One hundred and fifty years have passed since Walt Whitman first published Leaves of Grass, a collection of twelve poems that irrevocably altered the development of poetry and literature. His magnum opus shattered existing notions of poetry, breaking all existing conventions in terms of subject matter, language, and style. Leaves of Grass opened the door not only for poets, but writers, artists, musicians, and thinkers to break down barriers in their own work; despite never reaching a mass audience during the artist's lifetime, its tremendous impact is being felt a century and a half later. Today, we are still trying to understand who Whitman was, what he was saying, and what he was styling himself to be. Hosted by Carl Hancock Rux, "Walt Whitman: Song of Myself" explores how a 36-year old freelance journalist and part-time house-builder living in Brooklyn created his outrageous, groundbreaking work. We join Whitman on a walk through the urban streets, imagining the sights, sounds and music, from Stephen Foster to Italian opera, that profoundly affected him and indelibly shaped his poetry. The city transformed Whitman, and Whitman in turn transformed the wild diversity and intensity of the city into a radical, passionate vision for America. In his poetry, he refused to be censored: he celebrated the body and sexuality; he embraced the invisible and the disenfranchised, from women to slaves to prostitutes. His hopes to heal the country of its deep political divisions through his poetry were dashed by the Civil War, but his work lives on as a vital life-affirming force. In this hour-long special, Rux speaks with writers, poets, musicians, and scholars who tell the story of this extraordinary, self-styled celebrity. Guests include writers Michael Cunningham and Phillip Lopate; poets Martin Espada, hailed by some as a contemporary Whitman, and Ishle Yi Park, Queens poet laureate; composers John Adams and Ned Rorem; choreographer Bill T. Jones; Whitman scholars Karen Karbiener and David Reynolds; and many, many others. Actors including Jeffrey Wright and Paul Giammatti share readings of Whitman's poetry, which, one hundred and fifty years on, still astonishes.
4 Comments
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Review of Walt Whitman: Song of MyselfAn engraved invitation to read Whitman. For that reason alone this piece deserves praise and airtime. Even more deserved so because it is well produced, polished in sound, and wise in content. That said, I do wish it made some distinction between the first edition and the deathbed edition of Leaves of Grass. The "death bed" edition is the edition most widely available. However, the first edition (available in a reprint from Penguin) offers more magic per word and a greater emotional velocity. It is that edition which more clearly connects to transcendentalism. It is that edition whose 150th anniversary is upon us. Also, by distinguishing between the two termination points of his work -- its first publication, and then its final -- it puts poetry into contemporary and immediate utility. How? That it evolved over time suggests how our lives can be poetry because our journals can be poetry. Whitman kept public this journal of his. It is a model for us, as inspiration for those of us who came into this world long after his body's departure. |
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Review of Walt Whitman: Song of MyselfMakes the great American poet relevant for today's audience. Captures the voices of poets, scholars, and average New Yorkers to understand why his poetry still matters. Generous helpings of Whitman's poetry. Vital, engaging. |
Broadcast History
Walt Whitman: Song of Myself was produced by WNYC, New York Public Radio and originally aired in November, 2005.
Transcript
Here is some live promotional copy:
Walt Whitman was a rebel?a radical?and a he broke every convention of subject matter, language and style. But that?s just the beginning. Go below the surface of this fiercely American poet. Join host Carl Hancock Rux for ?Walt Whitman: Song of Myself.? A journey into the world of Whitman on the 150th anniversary of his groundbreaking ?Leaves of Grass.? Today at 3 on 93.9 WNYC.
Here is a sample press release:
(STATION) Presents
?Walt Whitman: Song of Myself,?
An Hour-long Special about America?s Most Radical Poet
Hosted by Carl Hancock Rux, Documentary Marks the 150th Anniversary of the Groundbreaking Leaves of Grass
?He was brilliant at eroticizing not only men and women but the city itself. He found a crowded street sexy. I mean, who doesn?t??
? Novelist Michael Cunningham
?It was Whitman who said that the duty of the poet was to cheer...
Read the full transcript
Timing and Cues
Break 1: 16:27 (60 seconds)
Break 1 cue: "...stay tuned" + 1 second applause fade
Break 2: 33:49 (60 seconds)
Break 2 cue: "...stay with us" + 4 seconds music fade
Musical Works
WHITMAN POETRY & MUSIC
All poetry readings from ?Leaves of Grass?
?These are the thoughts of men?
Excerpt from "Song of Myself"
Read by Michael Stuhlberg
?This hour I tell things in confidence?
Excerpt from "Song of Myself"
Read by Mary Myers
?Closer yet I approach you?
Excerpt from "Crossing Brooklyn Ferry"
Read by Jeffrey Wright
?The blab of the pave?
Excerpt from "Song of Myself"
Read by Bob Holman
"To a Stranger"
Read by Phillip Lopate & anonymous New Yorkers
?This is the city?
Excerpt from "Song of Myself"
Read by Mary Myers
"The peddler sweats with his pack on his back?
Excerpt from "Song of Myself"
Read by Mike Daisey
"Give me the Splendid Silent Sun"
[see music credits]
?And I say to mankind?
Excerpt from "Song of Myself"
Read by Michael Stuhlbarg
?I hear the trained soprano?
Excerpt from ?Song of Myself"
Read by Mike Daisey
"Oh You Whom I Often and Silently Come"
[see music credits]
?Walt Whitman, an American?
Excerpt from "Song of Myself"
Read by Michael Stuhlberg
Through me many long dumb voices?
Excerpt from ?Song of Myself"
Read by Jeffrey Wright
?The runaway slave came to my house?
Excerpt from ?Song of Myself"
Read by Paul Giamatti
?I am the hounded slave?
Excerpt from ?Song of Myself"
Read by Christina Kirk
"A Woman Waits for Me"
Read by Joao do Souza
Courtesy Isaiah Sheffer & Symphony Space
?Hair, bosom, hips, bend of legs??
Excerpt from ?I Sing the Body Electric? [1855 version]
Read by Bill T. Jones
"Earth, my likeness"
Excerpt from "Song of Myself"
Read by Bill T. Jones
"A Noiseless Patient Spider"
Read by Paul Giamatti
?Listener up there!?
Excerpt from ?Song of Myself?
Read by Jeffrey Wright
?Failing to Fetch Me?
Excerpt from ?Song of Myself?
Read by Jeffrey Wright
MUSIC EXCERPTS
John Adams: "Fearful Symmetries" conducted by Edo de Waart, performed by the Orchestra of St. Luke's [The John Adams Earbox/Nonesuch]
Steve Reich: ?New York Counterpoint? performed by Roger Heaton and other musicians [Roger Heaton/Clarinet Classics]
Louis Moreau Gottschalk: ?Machenga? from ?Etude du Manchega? performed by pianist Cecile Licad [Piano Music/Naxos]
John Adams: "The Chairman Dances" from "Nixon in China" conducted by Edo de Waart, performed by the San Francisco Symphony [The John Adams Earbox/Nonesuch]
Lanny Meyers: "Give me the Splendid, Silent Sun,? performed by Jonathan Meyers; courtesy Isaiah Sheffer & Symphony Space [1992 live recording]
John Adams: "The Chairman Dances" from "Nixon in China" conducted by Edo de Waart, performed by the San Francisco Symphony [The John Adams Earbox/Nonesuch]
John Zorn: ?Work-A-Day World? (Anton's Theme) [Filmworks VI:1996/Tzadik)
Stephen Foster: "Slumber my Darling? performed by Allison Krauss with Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer and Mark O'Connor [Beautiful Dreamer - The Songs of Stephen Foster/Emergent]
Vincenzo Bellini: ?Innocente, e a noi pi? cara? from ?La Sonnambula,? conducted by Antonino Votto and the Orchestra and Chorus of the Piccola Scala [La Sonnambula/Virtuoso]
Gaetano Donizetti: ?Verranno a te sull?aure? from ?Lucia di Lammermoor," performed by Maria Callas and Giuseppe di Stefano with the RIAS Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin, conducted by Herbert von Karajan [Lucia di Lammermoor/EMI]
Gaetano Donizetti: "Percorriamo le spiagge vicine" from "Lucia di Lammermoor," performed by the Ambrosian Opera Chorus and the London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Thomas Schippers [Lucia di Lammermoor/Deutsche-Grammophon]
Gaetano Donizetti: Mad Scene excerpt from ?Lucia di Lammermoor,? performed by Edita Gruberova and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Nicola Rescigno [Lucia di Lammermoor/Angel/EMI]
Ned Rorem: "O You Whom I Often and Silently Come,? performed by mezzo-soprano Susan Graham and pianist Ned Rorem [Susan Graham -- Songs of Ned Rorem/Erato]
John Adams: "Mother of the Man? from ?Na?ve and Sentimental Music,? conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic [Na?ve and Sentimental Music/Nonesuch]
Ice-T: "O.G. Original Gangster" performed by Ice-T [O.G. Original Gangster, Sire/London/Rhino]
The Stic: ?Levitation Dub? [Subtitled Records?Take 1/Guidance Recordings: 2000]
A Tribe Called Quest: "Can I Kick It?" [People's Instinctive Travels and the paths of Rhythm/Jive]
Ry Cooder: ?Nothing out There? [Paris, Texas: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack/Warner Bros/WEA]
Bernice Regan Johnson: "There is a Balm in Gilead," performed by Florida A&M University Concert Choir [Wade in the Water, Vol.1: African-American Spirituals: The Concert Tradition/Smithsonian Folkways]
Benjamin Britten: "Moonlight" (from the "Sea Interludes" of ?Peter Grimes?), performed by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Libor Pesek [Sinfonia da Requiem & other pieces/Virgin]
John Adams: The Wound-Dresser? performed by baritone Sanford Sylvan and the Orchestra of St. Luke's, conducted by John Adams [The John Adams Earbox/Nonesuch]
John Adams: "Chained to the Rhythm" from ?Na?ve and Sentimental Music,? conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, performed by the Los Angeles Philharmonic [Na?ve and Sentimental Music/Nonesuch]
John Adams: "The Chairman Dances" from "Nixon in China," conducted by Edo de Waart, performed by the San Francisco Symphony [The John Adams Earbox/Nonesuch]
John Adams: "Fearful Symmetries" conducted by Edo de Waart, performed by the Orchestra of St. Luke's [The John Adams Earbox/Nonesuch]
Additional Files
- Leaves of Grass frontispiece, Brooklyn: 1855 (Whitmanimageversions.py.jpg)
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Paul ChFC
Posted on April 13, 2009 at 05:50 PM | Permalink
I am 50 years old.
I have tried to read Whitman many times, and failed. This is the first time I "got" Whitman.