Reading film critic Roger Ebert's Twitter stream today, the New Orleans Literature Examiner remembered beloved poet Walt Whitman was born May 31, 1819, in Long Island, New York. Ebert shared a link to the following video, a recitation of "A Sight in Camp" from Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman.
Poet, Walt Whitman
As written in her first post on this website, this examiner informed readers of Whitman's connection to the City of New Orleans. Indeed, he began Leaves of Grass here.
Whitman sojourned in the Crescent City briefly but in that time, according to the PBS show The American Experience, Whitman fell in love with New Orleanians, free and slave alike, blossomed in the arms of our city's bohemian decadence, and changed his opinion on slavery. Here he percolated the first lines of Leaves of Grass, a book of poetry that introduced the world to free verse and extolled self-governance.
While on the the topic of poetry, please tell poets you know that the New Orleans Literature Examiner is seeking poems about the BP oil spill from both local and international poets. Read more here. In addition to poetry, song lyrics, including parodies, such as this one of Gershwin's classic "Summertime" ("Summertime and the living is greasy") are also acceptable.
See all poetry posts. For more on the oil spill, Nordette Adams has been writing regularly about this environmental crisis at her blog. You may also appreciate why we must save Louisiana wetlands.
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