Song of Myself is easily the best known of Whitman's poems, though in reality it's 52 poems compiled under one title. I'd like to share my thoughts on the first 26 of them. ...
Weekends with Whitman – Song of Myself (1 of 2)
Weekends with Whitman – Starting from Paumanok
Starting from Paumanok's begins with the lines "Starting from fish-shape Paumanok where I was born, / Well begotten and rais'd by a perfect mother, / After roaming many lands, lover of populous pavements, / ... / Solitary, singing in the West, I strike up for a New World." The pattern...
Reviewing The House of Hunger By Dambudzo Marechera
Dambudzo Marechara’s story, The House of Hunger, is one of the most profound portraits of absolute poverty written in the English language, though not the most accessible....
Reviewing Strange Seeds by S. H. Vogl
Strange Seeds isn't my usual reading. But I saw the photos and bought the book. I'm glad I did. It's a self-published book written by S. H. Vogl and illustrated by Kaela Lichstein. Vogl mixes poetry and prose through the book as she pieces together her personal stories of heartbreak and abuse, and leads up to her recovery and growth....
Weekends with Whitman — Inscriptions
Inscriptions is the first section of Leaves of Grass, 24 poems that presumably prepare the reader for the rest of the volume. Whitman opens with One's-Self I Sing, and As I Ponder'd in Silence by sharing his belief in and the intended breadth of his work. He believes he doesn't just talk about himself--his poetry is a song about and for all of humanity. Not only that, he believes his writing is part of an age-old cause, a battle in an ancient and ongoing war...
