Walt Whitman

Gr 9 Up-Walt Whitman is often considered America's first great poet who provided a voice for the common man. Recounting information about Whitman's life and his lifelong work, Leaves of Grass, narrator J. K. Simmons takes viewers through Whitman's early life, employment as a newspaper journalist in New York, and the publication of Leaves of Grass, to his death in 1892. Whitman believed that his poetry would appeal to the common man, but the reviews of his book were scathing. Later editions expressed his outrage over slavery and hope that the Civil War would not come. The film features black-and-white and color photos with readings of Whitman's work by Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Yusef Komunyakaa, poet Martin Espada, former Poet Laureate Billy Collins, and novelist Allan Gurganus. Actor Chris Cooper is the voice of Whitman. This very frank look at Whitman's life and work will be appreciated by teachers introducing units on the poet and students studying his poetry.-Jeana Actkinson, Bridgeport High School, TX (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.