And you, O my reader, where you sit, reading from a screen that holds more words than the mind can store, what do you do after reading Whitman’s poetry? Some respond by “Whitmanizing” in bold statements or expressive art. The poet Czeslaw Milosz says that after reading Whitman, he experiences “a rapturous movement toward happiness” which for some is “expressed in poetry, prose, painting, theater.” In this video, artists respond to a Whitman poem by creating three series of images that express their interpretations. I suspect that the spirit of this poet is busy celebrating the continuation of his art.
Walt Whitman, “A Noiseless Patient Spider.” Leaves of Grass, edited by Emory Holloway, Doubleday & Company, 1926, p. 375.