Walt Whitman's Democratic Vistas

“When America does what was promised, When each part is peopled with free people…When through these states walk a hundred million superb persons… Then to me ripeness and conclusion.”

Walt Whitman, better than most, articulated a vision of what America is and what it might yet become. He sought to capture the many distinct voices that make up the chorus of this country, the singing stevedores working in the harbors, the calls of teamsters hauling goods with their horses, the many voices of immigrants in his beloved Bronx, the enslaved singing in the cotton fields, the cadences of politicians and preachers.

After the Civil War, when our Nation was highly divided along political and geographic lines, Walt offered both a diagnosis of our difficulties and a vision of unity through dialogue and the arts.

This program is a hybrid blending of Walt’s poetry, his essays on American Democracy, and a carefully curated conversation with the audience to help them better articulate their vision for a better America, The audience will move consciously from talk to tasks lists, dreams to democratic and dynamic actions.

This event is Free and Open to the public. For more information, please contact Norma Lee Hackney at vabchlee@gmail.com.

Learn more about Brian “Fox” Ellis, this program, and how to book it.