Poets Reading Poetry: Walt Whitman

Poetry is meant to be read aloud, but rarely is. As Oscar Wilde once said, "A poet can survive everything but a misprint."

So, cutting out the middle man, here is where we'll post famous poets reading their own poetry--the words off the page and in your ears, as they intended. And hopefully nothing is lost in the process.

Today: Walt Whitman

In the early 1990s, scholars believed they discovered a wax recording of Walt Whitman reading the first four lines of his poem 'America.' The sound comes from an NBC cassette from the early 1950s where broadcaster Leon Pearson identifies it as a wax recording of Whitman reading the poem. The wax recording itself dates from either 1889 or 1890, which would coincide with Whitman's revising of the poem in 1888.

While nearly all experts believe the recording to be authentic from around 1890, some are concerned it isn't Whitman himself, but an actor. Roughly at the same time though, Thomas Edison was interested in recording Whitman. A gentleman named Sylvester Baxter recommended to Edison to record the poet. This led to Edison's secretary to write back to Baxter, "Mr. Edison has received your letter of the 8th instant in regard to obtaining a phonographic record of the poet Whitman. He is very much obliged for your suggestion, and will endeavor to carry it out." No record was made of Edison and Whitman meeting, so we're left to wonder.

By 1889 or 1890 Whitman was a 70 or 71-year old man, in failing health, who was to die in 1892. At the same time, the recording is clearly that of an elderly man with strong, resonate tones--as Whitman's associates described his voice in his later years.

Who knows? It's more fun to assume it's Whitman though.

The poem in its entirety:


America

Centre of equal daughters, equal sons,
All, all alike endear’d, grown, ungrown, young or old,
Strong, ample, fair, enduring, capable, rich,
Perennial with the Earth, with Freedom, Law and Love,
A grand, sane, towering, seated Mother,
Chair’d in the adamant of Time.




recording: BrainPickings.org