
A sweeping, exuberant celebration of the self and the world around it, this collection invites listeners to hear the pulse of ordinary life transformed into verse. From the opening call to “sing the body electric” to meditations on the open road, the poet’s voice unites personal experience with the broader tapestry of a nation in flux, honoring everything from bustling streets to quiet rivers. The work’s optimism and curiosity draw you into a dialogue that feels both intimate and universal, urging a deeper connection with the body, the soul, and the land.
Organized into a series of loosely linked sections, the poems shift from lively street songs to contemplative reflections on love, labor, and democracy. Their free‑form style and vivid imagery make each piece feel like a spontaneous conversation, while recurring motifs of growth, movement, and renewal give the whole a cohesive rhythm. Listeners will find themselves swept up in the poet’s boundless enthusiasm for humanity’s potential and the ever‑changing world it inhabits.
Language
en
Duration
~12 hours (736K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
1998-05-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1819–1892
A bold, restless voice in American poetry, this writer transformed everyday life, democracy, the body, and the soul into something expansive and new. Best known for Leaves of Grass, he helped reshape what poetry in the United States could sound like.
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