This week, we focus on the nineteenth-century American poet, Walt Whitman. We briefly touch on his time volunteering as a nurse during the civil war, and also share an anecdote on one of his most recognized photographs. Ralph Waldo Emerson would say of Whitman's seminal collection of poems, Leaves of Grass, to be "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed.'' This episode will feature a spoken word reading of his 1865 poem, "O Captain! My Captain!".

Excerpt:

O Captain! My Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather'd every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
      But O heart! heart! heart!
            O the bleeding drops of red,
                  Where on the deck my Captain lies,
                        Fallen cold and dead.

Sources: This poem was reprinted in Sequel to Drum-Taps (1865); with revision in Passage to India (1871, 1876); and finally in "Drum-Taps," Leaves of Grass (1881–82). Historical Research: The Poetry Foundation & The Walt Whitman Archive.

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